Nature Preserve Wildlife Report

Prepared by JOHN P. RICHARDSON
NATURALIST / HISTORIAN
1985     

for:
Dr. R. Iacobucci, Executive Director
Nature Preserve Inc.
Pembroke, Massachusetts

Dear Dr. Iacobucci,

     At the outset let me thank you for the guided tour of the Nature Preserve.  On the way down from Hingham I wondered how your Preserve might compare to other preserves, forests, and parks I have studied.  I find it necessary to believe in what I write about so would not agree to accept a study or write a statement regarding any open space which I thought less than worthwhile. 

     I returned to the Preserve early on Memorial Day spending a grand two hours exploring every off trail nook and cranny.  What I observed and experienced during those
two hours inspires me to report to you that the Nature Preserve is all and more than the name suggests.  Those two hours were, to say the least, a unique experience. Robinson Creek and the expansive panorama of tidal marshes is the Preserve’s highpoint which pulls all the other variable attributes into a cohesive and rewarding outdoor experience.
The Nature Preserve is, without a doubt, a local and regional treasure containing an uncommon variety of plant communities and wildlife habitats compacted into a relatively small tract of seventy acres. 

I can confidently write that I have never observed so many species of bird life and other wildlife or signs of wildlife in such a short period of time (two hours)  on such
a relatively small tract of land in all my years of exploring New England open spaces.

    As I previously stated the Nature Preserve contains an uncommon variety of plant
communities within a relatively small area. Each distinctive plant community contains specific plants that are attracted to the site because of specific conditions such as, but not limited to, soils, wetness, dryness, exposure, etc.
This variety of plant communities ensures a wide variety of wildlife food plants and habitats.  This variety and balance attracts an uncommon variety of wildlife strengthening the thesis that this tract of land is finely tuned to be a truly credible Nature Preserve.  The variety of plant communities and their statements in conjunction with the astonishing variety of wildlife underscores the fact that this relatively small tract of land contains all the ingredients necessary for a full and valuable educational experience. 

I know of no other local open space where school children could walk over a relatively short distance and come into contact with such a variety of situations that could be skillfully utilized to promote environmental awareness. 

The burned woods and sand plain communities present the educational potential for
observing the successive stages of natural revegetation after catastrophic disaster.  These two communities are “frosting on the cake” in relation to the Nature Preserve attributes.

The burned woods area contains many prostrated, decomposing hulks of White Pine
as well as several still standing.  Both those standing and those prostrated are wildlife communities unto themselves. The standing hulks of old fire killed pine attract several species of birdlife that feed on insects and grubs within the rotting wood as well as
providing nesting space for several woodpecking species.

     The “Sand Area” or sand plain is in actuality a sand/gravel borrow site that now is a
hostile desert-like environment as far as most native plant species are concerned, yet still there are several species that have established substantial colonies in the first succession period.  The contrast between the “barren wastes” of the Sand Area and the serene, picturesque scene of the adjacent pond is startling.  Several species of turtle move out of the pond and creek to lay eggs in the sandy soils of the Sand Plain.  Although the Sand Area is the result of mankind’s commercial enterprise, it most likely represents the
condition of much of New England after the glaciers scoured the surface some 10,000 years ago.  One hundred years from now the Sand  Area will be covered with a
heavy growth of trees and shrubs. Reforestation can be accelerated by the spreading of wood chips, tree prunings, and other cast off vegetation over the Sand  Area.
This would introduce some shade from the scorching sun, increasing the chance for germination and the survival of seedling trees and shrubs. 

The decomposing vegetation would also introduce a layer of organic material on top of the naked sand. 

Erosion on the slopes would also be retarded. The Burned Woods Community and the Sand Plain Community add interest and strength to the Nature Preserve Inc., for they provide dramatic educational opportunities within a few yards of each other.

     The small pond community is the result of man damming a brook that rises west of Route 53.  The result is similar to what happens when beaver dam a stream. 

It creates an environment that attracts many species of wildlife.  This particular pond community is especially suited to wildlife observation and educational pursuits because it is totally accessible by circumferential trails, which trails also abut other communities
overlooking the pond.

  At the pond’s southwest end there is a shrub swamp and wooded swamp community. 

To the west there is an open meadow  community, while to the northwest a pine woods covers a hillside. 

To the immediate north there is an old reforested borrow area, while to the northeast, below the dam, there is a streambank and wooded swamp community. To the southeast, of course, there is the Sand Area Community.  All these environments can be experienced without leaving the circumferential pond trail. Here, along a roughly circular 200 yard trail from the dam around the pond back to the point of beginning, there exists a truly dynamic, multi-faceted educational and recreational opportunity.  This panorama of plant communities coming Together, as they do, about the pond represent a variety of wildlife habitats and food sources which is the essence of a viable Nature Preserve.

An interesting local geological attribute is a glacial outwash plain roughly contained within an area bounded by Route 53, Briggs Cemetery, a portion of Robinson’s Creek, an old wood road to Pleasant Street and the westerly half of Pleasant Street.  The southwesterly portion of Water Street nearly bisects the glacial outwash plain in half.  A small portion of the plain is in the preserve.  The Sand Area (so called) is a part of the outwash plain.  Fortunately, the most dramatic portion of  the outwash plain, identified by steep slopes that rise abruptly sixty or seventy feet over Robinson Creek, have survived.  Views from the outwash plain terrace over Robinson Creek, the marshes, and beyond Route 139 to the North River floodplain are extensive and dramatic.  The sudden variances in topography from Robinson Creek to the outwash plain terrace only adds dimension and quality to the variable qualities of the Nature Preserve Inc.  Another attribute of the outwash plain is the white pine climax forest that covers the terrace and a part of the slopes.  When the colonists settled Massachusetts Bay and before the virgin stands of white pine forests were harvested it was typical to see vast stands of white pine, some of immense height and girth, growing on the sandy soils often found along the river valleys.  The stand of pine on the preserve’s outwash plain is, in small measure, representative of the pre-settlement period.  Some of these pine, if they survive the elements, will continue to grow to great size for centuries yet to come. 

At the base of the outwash plain along Robinson Creek bountiful springs of clear, pure water pour out of water bearing till of the outwash plain.  The spring brooks abound with wildlife.  I noted the tracks of fox, raccoon, and other small mammals as well as numerous birds and amphibians.  In my opinion the glacial outwash plain, the steep slopes, the numerous springs, distinctive views, and climax white pine forest are a cohesive unit of importance within the Nature Preserve.

     There are other notable environments within the Nature Preserve - a climax forest of
pine, oak and hickory way in the north most corner; a tiny, secluded wet meadow alive with warblers the day I came upon it; a field of wind blown grass with hawks soaring over head and an owl in the big oak near the fence row; a hillside pasture now succeeding slowly to forest but where there are still apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, and bittersweet; but the most notable feature in the entire preserve may be a tiny hillside sand hollow where the truly rare Prickly Pear Cactus has gained a foothold – the only specimen I have ever seen in Massachusetts.  Is this a state endangered species?

 { NOTE:  The cactus is no longer to be found in 2014 } 

      The  highpoint of the Nature Preserve is the mouth of Robinson Creek and the wide
expanse of tidal marsh.  Here the sea, although somewhat diluted, and Pembroke meet.
This rich tidal creek is a place where creatures orientated to the sea
intermix with those that dwell inland.  I think it fair to state that  Robinson Creek, the tidal marsh, and the adjacent uplands and wetlands of the Nature Preserve represent one of the richest wildlife sanctuaries surviving in Pembroke today.  

     Historically the Nature Preserve relates directly to the North River, one of the most scenic and historic rivers in New England.  Nearby, at the north terminus of Brick Kiln
Lane was the famous Brick Kiln Shipyard.
The Briggs family was famous in the history of North River and, in fact,
one member wrote a History of Shipbuilding on the North River.  The historic
Briggs cemetery abuts the Nature Preserve protecting a part of the preserve’s
south flank from commercialization. 

It is said that prehistoric people lived within the preserve, occupying a part of
the outwash plain terrace overlooking Robinson Creek.  I am told that stone implements and a hearth have been discovered here.  No doubt there are other historic associations within the preserve, but to me the most notable perception for this day is that the Nature Preserve protects, in a natural state, a notable tract of land that overlooks and is a part of the historic North River tidal plain.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The Nature Preserve Inc. has local and regional significance containing an uncommon variety of plant

communities and wildlife habitats compacted into a relatively small area.

2. The Nature Preserve Inc. contains all the ingredients

necessary for a full and  valuable educational and recreational experience.

3. Robinson Creek, the tidal marsh, and the adjacent uplands and wetlands of the Nature Preserve Inc. represent one of the richest and most variable wildlife sanctuaries surviving in Pembroke today.

4. The Nature Preserve Inc.

preserves in a natural state an outstanding tract of open space that overlooks and, in fact, is a cohesive part of the historic, scenic North River tidal open

space.

     I found the Nature Preserve to be a rich and variable experience.  I shall return many times in the future to enjoy and to learn from what it offers.

Respectfully,                                              

         John P. Richardson