embracing diverse ecosystems
a geographic nature journal
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The Mountain of Oaks, Mt. Wachusett
A common stereotype that surrounds the concept of a “mountain” involves either a summit populated with coniferous (evergreen) trees, or a treeless summit surrounded by coniferous forests below the treeline. Indeed this assumption holds mostly true for many mountains in New England, including the famous Mt. Washington, Mt. Cardigan, Mt. Monadnock, and Pack Monadnock. A…
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The Desert at the Base of the Spring Mountains, Red Rock Canyon
The Spring Mountains are a small mountain range that sit directly in the eastern rain shadow of California’s Sierra Nevadas. This mountainous terrain that descends into dry desert creates a unique transitional area between higher alpine environments and arid hills. The nature of the transition represents an analogue to the ecosystem convergence we discovered at…
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A Hemlock Oasis in the Boston Metro
In my previous life as a city dweller, I would never have known to search for hemlock trees in Massachusetts. I moved from the mountain west directly into an area with a highly dense population and little native forest cover. With the pandemic, there seems to have been a renewed interest in the outdoors and…
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A Fragmented Landscape in Western Washington
On the East Coast, Midwest, and Mountain West, we often hear stories of the pristine old growth temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, a magical, untouched realm only accessible via the remote lens of social media. These lands of ancient giants steeped in moss and lichen are presented in stark contrast to both the barren…
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Discovering Forest Mosaics in Upstate New York
Having spent most of the past several years in eastern Massachusetts, I have not had much opportunity to really dive into the minute differences between the forest ecosystems of the eastern United States. I had heard of a few unique locations that differed from the oak and pine-dominated lowlands of my home region, such as…
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Ecosystem Convergence in Spearfish Canyon
It is a rare, special place where we can easily see the boundaries between so many known ecological systems. On the east coast, the forest mosaic changes subtly and gradually as we move through the landscape, central hardwoods such as oak blending seamlessly into northern hardwood trees such as beech and sugar maple. It can…
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Observing Tree Varieties in Cochituate State Park
Something I think we often overlook as outdoor recreationalists, regardless of how casual or hardcore we brand ourselves, is the embrace of natural history, or the art of observing closely the variation and behavior of the natural world around us. In Massachusetts, it’s very easy to hike or jog quickly through every stretch of woods…
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The Consideration of Riparian Environments in Ashland State Park
A former portion of the aqueduct system that provides the city of Boston with fresh water, the Ashland Reservoir was built in 1895. It has since been decommissioned as a potable water source and is now managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The body of water has been maintained for swimming, boating,…
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Exploring Florida’s Fire-reliant Ecosystems in Manasota Scrub Preserve
Florida is renowned as a tourist destination for beachgoing and the Everglades ecosystem, but little attention is paid on a national scale to one of its broadest ecoregions, the Flatwoods. Despite this, Flatwoods preserve parks are pretty easily accessible and plentiful in populated areas, in part due to the ease of developing over them, to…