Old growth forests

Location
Boundaries

Topography


Source: Avril de la Cretaz, Matthew Kelty, and Lena Fletcher. “Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy Forest Reserve.” Massachusetts Forest Reserves Long term Ecological Monitoring Program. 2009. Web. 22 November 2013. 

Land Use
“In pre-colonial times, Pocomtuc peoples maintained semi-permanent agricultural settlements in the Deerfield and Connecticut River valleys. Monroe was first settled in 1800… Upland farmers relied on a mix of agricultural activities for their economic survival. These included maple sugaring in the spring, providing hay and pasture for lowland cattle in the summer, and apples and cider in the fall. During the winter, commercial timber harvesting was an option if the snow was not too deep. Sheep farming was a major agricultural activity in the uplands in the first half of the nineteenth century… Land that is now within the Forest Reserve boundaries appears to have been sparsely settled and a large portion of the land may have been kept as woodlots…There were six sawmills, however, in the town of Monroe, plus several sawmills and a wood pulp mill in Florida… The towns of Florida, Savoy, and Monroe experienced a population boom in the 1860s and 1870s as laborers moved to the area to work on the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel… Construction of the tunnel began in 1851; the first trains passed through in 1875, and work on the tunnel continued into the 1880s… By 1925, Monroe had lost over a third of its population, with only 143 residents remaining … The state acquired several large blocks of forestland in the early 20th century to establish Mohawk Trail, Savoy, Florida, and Monroe State Forests. Most of the land purchases were completed between 1917 and 1936. In the Mohawk Trail State Forest area, 44 landowners sold more than 6,000 acres to the state between 1921 and 1936. In 1924 the state acquired 1,164 acres from the Monroe Bridge Paper Company. This parcel was the beginning of the Monroe State Forest. This was followed by a purchase of 1,091 acres from representatives of the Parker estate. An additional 1,628 acres in small parcels 20 were purchased from 1924 to 1930 from 12 additional landowners. Savoy Mountain State Forest was created in 1917-1918 with the purchase of 1,000 acres of abandoned farmland from 12 landowners. Over the next 18 years an additional 74 landowners sold more farmland adding 9,300 acres to the forest.”

Current Populations: Monroe: 93 Florida:676 "Monroe is the smallest town by population and population density in Franklin County and the second smallest town in Massachusetts."

Source: Avril de la Cretaz, Matthew Kelty, and Lena Fletcher. “Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy Forest Reserve.” Massachusetts Forest Reserves Long term Ecological Monitoring Program. 2009. Web. 22 November 2013. 

"The Dunbar Brook is named after George Dunbar, a loyalist who received a land grant in 1783. The Maliseet name for the brook is Kulloosisik “Eagles Nest”."

(http://waterfallsnewbrunswick.ca/?cat=6)

Grand Tree Trail Race Series: The Dunbar Brook Trail was used in the Grand Tree Trail Race Series circa 2005.

Here is a map of the route:

The trail is 10.5 miles, and has beautiful scenery.

STAFFORD & WHITCOMBE SAW MILL ~ MONROE, MASS. - 1903

The Hoosac Tunnel was made lined with brick and held up with timbers, most likely local.

A picture of men drilling in the Hoosac Tunnel:

A map of Monroe, Ma, 1858:(Apparently, Dunbar Brook was called Mill Brook, on account of all the sawmills.)

1850 census of Monroe, Franklin, MA. Isaac B. Stafford, Samuel A. Axtell, worked in the sawmill. Emerson Stafford worked as a carpenter.

(1900 United States Federal Census for Monroe, Franklin, Massachusetts, Enumeration District 0487) A few mill laborers: Allen L. Ballou, Herbert B. Sprague. The Phelps family and a few other families were very well off, and many families had at least one servant in their employ. Many people from Austria immigrated to Monroe and rented houses with their families in the 1890's. Nearly all of these Austrian men worked as laborers in the paper mill or the pulp mill.

Geology
The land that makes up the Mohawk Forest Reserve, and surrounding area, was formed between 485 and 440 million years ago, by the eroding remnants of mountains formed during the Taconic mountain building event that occurred in Ordovician and Silurian time.

This geological range is mostly made up of Schist, mica schist, gneiss, phyllite, conglomerate, granofels, calc-silicate rock and also Schist, quartzite.



Source: Avril de la Cretaz, Matthew Kelty, and Lena Fletcher. “Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy Forest Reserve.” Massachusetts Forest Reserves Long term Ecological Monitoring Program. 2009. Web. 22 November 2013. 

Soil


Soil Types: - Lyman - Turnbridge - Berkshire - Peru - Pillsbury - Hinckley - Groton

Source: Avril de la Cretaz, Matthew Kelty, and Lena Fletcher. “Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy Forest Reserve.” Massachusetts Forest Reserves Long term Ecological Monitoring Program. 2009. Web. 22 November 2013. 

Species of Hardwood Documented:
Black Birch (Betula lenta) Found on north facing slope of Dunbar, interspersed with hemlock along the length of the trail.

Grey Birch (Betula populifolia) Found mainly at the Dunbar trail head, along the road (existence in area probably due to previous fires caused by railroad).

Bigtooth Aspen (Populus Grandidentata) Found on disturbed, north facing slope of Dunbar, interspersed with maple and ash (existence probably due to historical disturbance from logging or fire).

Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) Found throughout Dunbar, along north and south facing slopes, interspersed with black birch and oak. Oldest individuals are located along the top of the ridge, with specimens in excess of 430 years.

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) Found mainly on the south facing slope of Dunbar, along river terrace. Mature old growth specimens located within the old growth section of Dunbar, but their age and height is unknown.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Found mainly on the south facing slope of Dunbar, with few individuals reaching maturity. several individuals exhibited signs of beech blight and secondary infection.

White Ash (Fraxinus americana) Found along path, interspersed with maple and oak.

Red Maple (Acer rubra) Found interspersed along the entire trail, except in hemlock dominated forest types.

Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

White Oak (Quercus alba)

Ages


(From http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/forestry/pdf/mohawk-monroefr.pdf)

Species


Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy Forest Reserve, Forest Type Map, indicating predominant overstory species (DCR 2003) and timber harvests 1984-2003 (McDonald et al. 2006). The white area was not part of the State Forest at the time the mapping was done.





(All charts and images from http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/forestry/pdf/mohawk-monroefr.pdf)

Birds
(Aves)
 * Cerulean warbler, Setophaga cerulea
 * Eastern Wood Pewee, Contopus virens
 * Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina
 * Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo
 * Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
 * Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
 * Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors
 * Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
 * Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
 * Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
 * Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
 * American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
 * Purple Finch, Haemorhous purpureus
 * Wild Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
 * White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
 * Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
 * Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis
 * Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus
 * Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
 * American Robin, Turdus migratorius
 * Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
 * Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura

Mammals
(Mammalia)
 * American Mink, Neovison vison
 * Bobcat, Lynx rufus
 * Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus
 * Cougar, Puma concolar
 * Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus
 * Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis
 * Fisher Cat, Martes pennati
 * Gray Fox, Urocyon cineroargentatus
 * Long Tailed Weasel, Mastela frenta
 * Meadow Vole, Microtus pensylvanicus
 * Muskrat, Ondantra zibethicus
 * North American River Otter, Lontra condensis
 * North American Beaver, Castor candensis
 * Opossum, Didelphis virginianus
 * Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
 * Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus
 * Southern Red-Backed Vole, Myodes gappeni
 * Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis
 * White Footed Mouse, Peromyscus leucopus
 * White Tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus
 * American Black Bear, Ursus Americanus