I found reference to these two, the first one sounds pretty dubious though indeed:
Hidden Brook Farm, Chester Township, NJ - said to have a 32acre woodlot that is old-grwoth although they way they talk about still being selectedly harvested to this day in order to maintain a thick canopy (whatever that means) makes it sound like a perhaps mature, but continuosly selectively cut woodlot and anything but real old-growth. The small photo provided was way too small to make enough out to judge anything about. It is possible that it is not even remarkable even as a second growth tract, with all the talk abotu constant selective cutting. the Holmdel Tract - a tiny 7.37 acre steep-slope parcel leading to the East River Corridor. East Creek runs into Mahoras Brook which runs into the Raritan Bay, the parcel was said to have been preserved as an example of an old-growth forest in 2004. It's a little hard to tell exactly where this tract is. I though the two rivers were more parallel, etc. Anyway it MIGHT be close to where I said I thought I had seen what appeared to be some giant old-growth near the jersey arts arena while zipping past on the highway, although probably not. One very odd thing I am noticing is that the vast majority of the potential or known OG tracts in NJ seem to be located within a narrow 15mile or so north-south band that stretches straight east/west across the entire width of the state despite there seeming to be nothing all in common about the region the band as a whole, with much of it having been in more heavily farmed or developed areas. I'm sure at least a few of these potentials I've mentioned will check out so since even in a state like NJ at least a few sites already well known at least locally were missed and not placed on the old-growth clearinghouse and ENTs surveys of known OG sites it may be safe to say that there may be quite a few more small sized tracts all over the east that have not been added to the list, which would be nice, always exciting to have hope that more and more may be out there. OTOH, since NJ tends to be thought of as the turnpike/areas near NYC or at best the pine barrens (which has by far the least old forest of any region in the state) and since the state had never tried to make lists of forest quality the story here may not match well to other states where perhaps a greater percentage of already discovered sites already have been placed on the lists (although hopefully not :) ). -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
