My Internship: Naturalist, Mount Ascutney State Park

Location

Mt. Ascutney State Park Windsor, Vermont Part of Green Mountain Range

What does a naturalist do? I held hour long nature

hikes 3-5 times per week

Hikes commenced from a parking area (3/4 up mountain) and finished at the mountain summit

I served as a guide and nature interpreter

Primary function is to be an environmental educator

How was I trained? The Vermont Agency of Forests and

Parks sent me to a 3-day intensive naturalist training camp

I learned how to give an interactive and interpretive nature presentation

I learned how to identify species using different field guides and references

What would a nature hike be like?

The Mountain Peak elevation:

3144 feet above sea level

Vertical rise: 2700 feet

Home to Ascutney Mountain Resort (ski area)

Formation The land was once much flatter, like the surrounding

countryside Land was overlain with schist Formed about 100 million years ago when molten

rock from deep within the earth forced up in a large dome-like shape into the schist

Molten rock never broke the surface and cooled without being exposed to air, forming granite

During the Ice Age, glaciers shifted down the Connecticut River Valley and scraped away shist, exposing the granite

Formation (continued)

Very similar to formation of White Mountains of New Hampshire

Composed primarily of Conway biotite (variety of granite)--same exact mineral composition as White Mountains, not found anywhere else in Vermont

Ascutney is the only granite exposed mountain in the area

Today it is the most dominating topographical feature in southeastern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire

Monadnock

Abenaki: “Mountain that stands alone”

Definition: an isolated, erosion-resistant mountain often times located within a valley

Conway biotite is particularly resistant to erosion, causing Ascutney to be the only mountain in the area

Early History “Ascutney” is Algonquin/Abenaki for “meeting of the

waters” The earliest European settlers who came into the

area around 1770 probably only hunted its forests and cleared some of its timber

Recreational hikers blazed a trail from the town of Windsor, VT to the peak of the mountain

In 1824, General Lafayette visited the U.S. and took a Grand Tour of the 24 existing states--a road was constructed to the top of the mountain so he could enjoy the views of one of Vermont’s tallest peaks

The Logging Era Logging was the most widespread industry at

the turn of the century Logging roads, skid paths, and dug-ways

ascended all sides of Ascutney to about 2500 feet

Horses and ox teams assisted loggers in hauling timber down the mountainside

Deforestation was occurring throughout all of Vermont at this time and the state was over 85% deforested by the 1910s

The “Steam Donkey”

The Quarry Era Four separate granite

quarries were worked at at different times

All quarries were around the 1500 ft. level

The Norcross (pictured) was the most extensive of the four quarries

Granite from Norcross Quarry used in the Alexander Hamilton Memorial in Washington D.C.

The Quarry Era (continued) Most of the excavated rock

was used for millstones and building blocks

Granite is high in iron content and prone to discoloration and deterioration

The last Quarry closed in 1923

Many deaths occurred due to cable breaks and other equipment failures

Park Development History The State of Vermont

purchased a 560 acre parcel from Weston Heights, Inc. and a 640 acre parcel from E.J. York in 1935

300 acres were purchased from the Bicknell Estate in 1938

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began development of Mt. Ascutney State Park in 1935

Park Development History (continued)

The original park (stone hut, ranger’s quarters, campsites) completed by 1939

Four trails leading from the base of the mountain to the summit were constructed between the 1857 and 1983

Trails: Weathersfield (from south), Futures (from southeast), Windsor (from northeast), Brownsville (from north)

All are about 3 miles in length, vertical rise of 2700 ft.

The Trees Deciduous:

Red Maple Sugar Maple American Beech White Birch Yellow Birch White Oak Pin Oak American Elm

Conifers: Northern White PineBalsam FirRed SpruceBlue SpruceEastern HemlockNorthern White Cedar

Exotic Wildflowers

Jack-in-the-Pulpits Lady Slippers Canada Mayflowers

Ferns

Lady Fern Marginal Wood Fern

Seasonal Streams and Vernal Pools

Several vernal pools exist in various areas of the mountain

Streams are mostly seasonal, or dependant on rain

Seasonal 80 ft. waterfall

Why educate the public on environmentalism? To spread awareness of the sensitivity

of forests Invasive species Destruction/deforestation Preservation of the nation’s natural

treasures To get more people involved!

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