Wesley Hill PreserveGrows!

The Land Trust recently purchased 32 acres of hand-some woodland in the town of Richmond in Ontario

County, a key acquisition that not only expanded itsWesley Hill Nature Preserve, but also extended protectionof Briggs Gully — one of the Finger Lakes region’s largestgorges.

The parcel of land has been a Land Trust conservationpriority for some time, both because it borders the LandTrust’s existing Wesley Hill Preserve on two sides andbecause the gully runs through it. The purchase fromCanadice resident Don Schenkel also completes protectionof the gully’s largest tributary.

The expanded 390-acre Wesley Hill Preserve is part ofa growing network of protected open space in the westernBristol Hills. Located on Gulick Road in South Bristol, thepreserve remains popular among hikers and wildlifewatchers. Several miles of well-maintained trails run

THE LAND STEWARDVol. 19, No. 1 working to protect the natural integrity of the Finger Lakes Region Winter 2006-07

Newsletter of the Finger Lakes Land Trust

Emerald Necklace Campaign Launched with Key Acquisitions

With the completion of two land protection projects at year-end, and progress onseveral conservation easements in the works, the Land Trust’s campaign to create

an Emerald Necklace around Ithaca got off to a fast start.Just south of Ithaca, the Land Trust purchased two properties totaling 130 acres.

Both parcels border existing protected open space and had long been identified as prior-ities for conservation. Land purchased from the Babcock family features more than amile of frontage on the Cayuga Inlet and also hosts a segment of the Finger Lakes Trail.A wooded parcel purchased from David Galat completes the northeastern boundary ofthe Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve.

The Babcock property borders both Robert Treman State Park and a CornellPlantations Natural Area. It is also located just south of the Land Trust’s SweedlerPreserve at Lick Brook and is adjacent to private land under conservation easement. Itssteeply sloping hillsides feature diverse hardwood forests and are visible from StateRoute 13 and Treman State Park.

“The Babcock property features an impressive array of natural resources and is alsopart of a contiguous block of 2,000 acres of protected open space,” says Land TrustExecutive Director Andy Zepp. “We’re grateful for the Babcock family’s generations ofcareful stewardship of this property as well as their willingness to sell the property for

The Babcock property features more than amile of frontage on the Cayuga Inlet

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The latest addition to the Wesley Hill Nature Preserve includes a portion ofBriggs Gully, one of the largest gorges in the Finger Lakes region

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through mixed oak forest and some of the region’s most mature stands of pine and hemlock.Briggs Gully, the preserve’s most noteworthy feature, extends along the preserve’s southern boundary and beyond for about 2.5 miles.

A geological marvel, featuring a series of falls over which stream waters cascade on their way down to Honeoye Lake, the gully has alsoplayed a role in Seneca tribal history. The pre-serve’s Rim Trail provides vistas overlookingthe gully and the forest of Harriet HollisterSpencer State Recreation Area beyond.

The purchase was made possible througha special gift from members Peter and PeggyKane and money from the Land Trust’sNature’s Gift fundraising campaign.Completed in 2003, this successful campaignraised nearly $300,000 for conservation proj-ects in the Western Finger Lakes. The cam-paign has funded a number of projects,including the establishment of CarolabarbPark in South Bristol and the protection of theGreen Farm in western Ontario County.

The Land Trust gratefully acknowledgesAttorney Kim Rothman and the law firm ofMiller Mayer, LLP for providing pro bono legalservices in the acquisition of the Schenkelproperty.

Directions to the preserve can be found at www. fllt.org

P E R S P E C T I V E S

Ablack bear sow and itstriplet cubs recently

observed ambling throughthe Land Trust’s SweedlerPreserve at Lick Brook

were likely taking advantage of one ofseveral forested wildlife corridors in theIthaca area.

In this issue Eben McLane explainshow recent studies have documented thevalue of ecological corridors. The issuealso highlights three land acquisitionsrecently completed by the Land Trust.Each of these projects extends protectionof wildlife corridors within our region.

Our two most recent acquisitions inTompkins County were probably tra-versed by the same sow and cubs seen atLick Brook. The Babcock and Galatproperties, though five miles apart, areboth located on the same forested ridge-line that extends southward from Ithacafor many miles. Wildlife such as the

black bear are known to use these linearforests as travel corridors.

In Ontario County, our latest addi-tion to the Wesley Hill Nature Preservealso harbors the occasional black bear.The Schenkel property is part of a grow-ing network of protected lands withinthe Bristol Hills, an area encompassingsome of the most wild and rugged ter-rain in the Finger Lakes.

While each of these projects willclearly benefit our wildlife, a key ques-tion for us at the Land Trust is whatabout the value of corridor protection tous humans? How do we value the oppor-tunity to hike through miles of forestclose by, without having to travel tosome remote wilderness area? How dowe put a price tag on an otter suddenlyencountered during a stroll at dusk on asummer evening near home?

Here in the Finger Lakes, we have aunique opportunity to create a network

of corridors that will benefit hundreds ofplant and animal species — as well asourselves. The task is daunting, however,involving outreach to hundreds andhundreds of landowners, negotiations toacquire key parcels and place conserva-tion easements on buffer areas, as well assubsequent stewardship of these lands.

Daunting, of course, but uplifting,too. While there is clearly much work tobe done, with your support we can andwill make headway. As clear evidence ofprogress, look at the recent extension ofprotected forestland in Ontario andTompkins Counties. By continuing andexpanding these efforts, we can ensurethat our region retains landscapes ofwildness and natural beauty accessible to all.

––Andy Zepp

2 • THE LAND STEWARD

Wesley Hill Preserve Grows!continued from cover

Jim Eyer has owned land along the western shore of Seneca Lakefor over 45 years. In that time, this retired professor of Optical

Science has watched the world change before his eyes. He has seenthe fields on his property gradually revert back to forest. He haswitnessed species like the wild turkey come back from obscurity.And, not least, he has kept a wary eye on the slow creep of devel-opment as it has made its way across the Seneca Lake landscape.Inspired to keep his property free from such development in thefuture, Jim recently donated a conservation easement on most ofhis 40 acres. This parcel marks the first easement for the LandTrust on the western shore of Seneca Lake.

The Eyer property is a classic example of the physical changethat has been underway for decades along the shores of the FingerLakes. Located on Rt. 14 north of Glenora, the parcel is an oldfarm site that features exceptional views of Seneca Lake. Withover 1100 feet of road frontage, the property would be a primelocation for future development.

Now protected, the overgrown fields and mixed hardwoodand pine forest will continue to provide a variety of habitats forthe wildlife found on the property. The easement will also protectthe small stream and its beautiful waterfalls running directly intoSeneca Lake along the property’s southern border.

In talking with Jim, one easily gets a sense of the commit-ment he has for his land through the small but meaningful obser-vations he has made over the last few decades. When talkingabout the small acre of gnarled grape vines still hanging on thetrellises near the old barn, he is quick to point out that it isn’t thedeer that made the home-grown wine operation a losing battle,but the increase in turkeys that now wander his land –– turkeys,he points out, that weren’t around 25 years ago.

He made the same point about the development pressures hesees spreading across the shoreline. “There are houses going upin places where there was only wildlife just a few years ago,” hesaid. “Seems only right to protect some of what makes this placespecial in the first place.”

While love of the land may have inspired him to protect it,Jim also wanted to use the act of placing a conservation easementon his property to honor his long time friend and mentor, RobertHopkins and his wife, Barbara. “Robert was my dissertation advi-sor at the University of Rochester and gave me my first job at theInstitute of Optics. Over the years he and Barbara were dearfriends, and I would like to use this as a way to say thank you in ameaningful and permanent way.”

—Rocci Aguirre

Easement donor Jim Eyer (left) and Land Trust staff memberRocci Aguirre (right) on Mr. Eyer’s Seneca Lake property

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Land Trust Receives First Easement on Seneca Lake

WINTER 2006-07 • 3

less than its appraised value.”“Our family is very privileged to have

been part of the Land Trust’s commend-able efforts to protect this land,” addsJohn Babcock.

The Galat property features matureforest located along the steep ridge thatlooms above West Danby. A vernal pondand a small tributary to the Cayuga Inletadd to the diversity of the site. As withthe Babcock property, the location of thistract is part of what makes it a priorityfor conservation. The parcel borders theLand Trust’s existing preserve as well asprivate land under conservation easementand Danby State Forest.

The Galat acquisition was fundedthrough support from the PartridgeFoundation, Cornell University, and sev-eral individual donors. The Land Trust

was able to proceed with the Babcockacquisition through the commitment of a$75,000 lead grant from Cornell and aninternal loan from its land acquisitionfund.

Commenting on the commitment ofCornell funds, Cornell PlantationsDirector and Land Trust board memberDon Rakow says, “by working together,we can preserve remaining natural areasfor research, education, and future gener-ations.”

The Land Trust has set a $200,000fundraising goal for the Babcock propertyto cover acquisition costs as well as long-term stewardship expenses. Please con-tact the Ithaca office if you would like tocontribute toward this project.

While two acquisitions kicked off theEmerald Necklace campaign, it is actually

expected that conservation easements willbe more frequently used in this area. Thefirst in what is expected to be a series ofeasements should be recorded in the earlypart of the new year.

During the coming months, the LandTrust will continue to work on other priority projects within the EmeraldNecklace, while also working with part-ners on the development of a comprehen-sive conservation plan for this vast area.

The Land Trust gratefully acknowl-edges Attorney Dick Ruswick for provid-ing pro bono legal services in theacquisition of the Babcock property andAttorney Mary Schubert and the law firmof True & Walsh, LLP for providing probono legal services in the acquisition ofthe Galat property.

Emerald Necklace Campaign Launched with Key Acquisitionscontinued from cover

On a sparkling morning in late fall, the first clear day in anotherwise soggy, overcast and cold season, I almost literally

leapt out of the house and into the woods –– well, first into thecar. Computer turned off, for a few hours at least, I drove down tothe Land Trust’s Steege Hill Nature Preserve in the Southern Tiertown of Big Flats, where the Chemung River snakes betweenCorning and Elmira.

On the south bank of the Chemung, Steege Hill rises toalmost 1800 feet above a deep bend in the river –– the river had toget out of the way, it seems. The 794-acre preserve (acquired in2001 through the generous support of ananonymous donor) is centered around thetop of the hill, and I had gorgeous, sunlitviews of the river valley below from clear-ings along the trails. The hiking is mostlygentle, but I was also eager to follow somesteeper trails down into intriguing ever-green gullies that roared with run-offfrom recent rains.

In those ravines I could easily imag-ine the songs of many woodland birds inspring and summer, but this was a wetwet fall. For the most part, birds weregenerally silent about their business as Iwalked. I studied a brown creeper forag-ing for insects in its distinctive way:climbing the tree bark, probing forsnacks, then swooping down to the baseof a nearby tree to begin its upward creepagain. A lone, silent blue jay harvestedacorns high above, dropping most (forlater gathering, perhaps) and cracking afew open for a quick meal. Chickadeesand nuthatches flitted through the under-growth, chatting quietly.

Migrant birds I met just by softsounds, thin “tsips” of warblers feeding inthe upper boughs of white and pitchpines, too high to identify. It was in someways a typical late autumn Central NewYork forest scene, but without the cold: plenty of sunlight and stillplenty of food.

Walking along the network of trails through the lovely SteegeHill woods, I guessed at the preserve’s land-use history, finallyfocusing on farming. Some trails follow old farm tracks flanked bythe rubble of ancient stone walls to clear pastures now chokedwith young maples and cherries, and there are two large founda-tions just off one trail. When I reached a broad, grassy clearing atthe very top of the hill, I could almost see sheep and cattle grazingthere.

It turns out I was both right and wrong about the land-usequestion. Although there was at least one 19th-century farm onthe hill, most of the rutted tracks and forest clearings are muchmore recent. I had somehow missed the bigger picture.

In the 1970s Steege Hill was nearly ruined by heavy logging.The town of Big Flats, in fact, grew so alarmed by the land degra-dation that it shut down the operation and passed a law regulat-

ing future logging within town limits. It was the first town in thestate to do so.

Now the original forest is obviously making an impressiverecovery and will continue to do so under careful Land Truststewardship.

Preserve steward Bob Corneau, who grew up nearby and stilllives on land adjacent to the preserve, maintains a color-codednetwork of trails, most of them over old logging roads, that leadvisitors to just about every corner of the preserve. In addition, hemaintains several clearings in the forest as well as a couple of

attractive ponds. (Picnicking, I thought,would be ideal on a warm summer day.)

Corneau has taken an interest in thetimber rattlesnake population at theSteege Hill preserve. Rare in our area,these endangered reptiles have attractedmuch attention over the years, includinga recent visit by Sir David Attenboroughand a film crew from BBC’s “Life onEarth” to shoot footage of rattlesnakes inthe preserve. [see Autumn 2006 issue ofThe Land Steward]

Cornell herpetologist Rulon Clarkhas been studying the foraging behaviorof the snakes, using electronic trackingdevices to chart their movements.Although not a scientist himself,Corneau has been assisting the research.

I saw no sign of rattlesnakes on mywalk, as they were safely below groundfor the long winter, but I noted the post-ings at the preserve entrance cautioninghikers against careless wandering fromlate April to late September.

Steege Hill Nature Preserve alsocontains the distinctive nests ofAllegheny mound ants. Although I amfamiliar with these ants from living incoastal Maine, I hadn’t seen any in theFinger Lakes region. An informative sign

next to one nest mound explains, among other things, that theants will destroy shade plants growing too near, so that the nest isassured of adequate sunlight for warmth. They’d done pretty wellfor themselves, it seemed to me.

I left the preserve that day marveling at the swift recovery ina forest nearly wiped out just decades ago and full of gratitude tothe Land Trust for stepping in and allowing this recovery to takeits natural course.

–– Eben McLane

DIRECTIONS TO THE PRESERVE: From Route 17 in Big Flats,take exit 49. Turn south from the exit ramp and go to Olcott Road.At the “T” intersection, turn right on Route 64 (unmarked), andright again on Route 352. Turn left on South Corning Road, crossthe river, and turn left on Steege Hill Road. Go about 1 mile up thehill and pull into the parking lot on the left, just before the pipelinecut. (Or park off the pavement on the shoulder of the road.)

The Recovered Beauty of Steege Hill

P R E S E R V E P R O F I L E

4 • THE LAND STEWARD

On the south bank of the Chumung River, SteegeHill rises to almost 1,800 feet, towering above theriver valley below

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REFLECT IONS ON CONSERVAT ION

Habitat fragmentation is familiar in one way or another to allFinger Lakes residents. For more than a hundred years, clear-

ing for development has made a checkerboard of the land. Once avast, intact forest and wetland ecosystem, the landscape has beenincreasingly fragmented into patches of habitat isolated by roads,field expansion, housing and commercial development.

An increase in habitat fragmentation puts heavy stress onmany native animals and plants. Local populations of plants andanimals are at risk from a loss of genetic diversity if they aretrapped in isolated patches removed from the larger population.The disappearance of a food source, of protective covering or evenof a small but reliable water source, can spell disaster for localpopulations of some small mammals, songbirds, insects andplants. The river otter, brought nearly to extinction in central NewYork by the destructionof its native wetlandhabitat, recently had tobe more or less reintro-duced to the creeks andrivers of central NewYork.

For decades, ecolog-ical protection programsfrom Austria toZimbabwe have pro-moted what are vari-ously called landscape,or habitat or conserva-tion “corridors” in hopesof reversing the detri-mental effects of habitatfragmentation on nativespecies and increasingoverall biodiversity.These corridors arestrips of land connect-ing isolated patches ofsimilar habitat, and arewidely believed toencourage the spread ofnative species and ensure their continued survival.

The Land Trust’s Emerald Necklace forest project is a case inpoint. Through a combination of conservation easement andacquisition, the Necklace will eventually protect pieces of landlinking together larger tracts of publically-owned forest in the hillsaround the southern end of Cayuga Lake.

This conservation strategy has common sense value, and agreat many land preservation projects have taken it on faith thatthe idea works. Research on the effectiveness of corridors is still inits early stages, but now the data are beginning to trickle in, andconservationists should be pleased.

Studies over the last decade from around the globe suggestthat corridors do encourage animal movement between habitatpatches, boosting population sizes and increasing geneflow (onekey measure of biodiversity). Not all studies show the same pic-

ture, however, and corridor conservation has its skeptics. We nowhave a healthy scientific discussion.

A 2003 study followed 10 diverse species of small animals,birds and insects and found that landscape corridors emphaticallydo increase movement and dispersal of species between frag-mented pieces of habitat. The study looked at a broad range ofhabitat “community functions,” including insect pollination andseed predation by birds and small mammals, concluding that “corridors have the potential to be valuable tools for landscapeconservation of diverse [organisms] and the biological processesthat they direct.”

One question for land conservationists: how wide a corridorfor best effect? The answer: what do you want to protect? Miceand voles and some edge-dwelling birds travel comfortably along

corridors a few meterswide –– think of the usehedgerows get. As a gen-eral rule, you might saythe larger the bird oranimal, the wider the cor-ridor. In the RockyMountains, for example,some habitat corridor pro-posals are on a scale of 20or more miles wide, forbear, moose, elk andwolves.

Corridors have beenshown to increase move-ment between patches offorest for some species ofbirds, such as the easternbluebird. Increased edgehabitat along corridorsallows bluebirds greaterfreedom of movementbetween patches of for-merly isolated habitat.However, for some otherbird species –– those that

do not specialize in edge habitat –– corridors have little or noeffect on their movement between forest patches.

Critics of corridors as a conservation strategy argue that cre-ating more edge habitat sets an “ecological trap,” in effect puttingsome bird and animal species at greater risk of predation. In thecase of indigo buntings, for example, a 2005 study showed anincrease in nest raiding by habitat edge specialists (snakes, crows,possums, etc.) where habitat corridors had been established. Oneway of resolving the problem, the authors say in their conclusion,is to design corridors with graduated edge habitat and enoughwidth to provide safer interior nesting for birds.

Most of the studies to date have focussed on small mammals,birds and insects, less on plants. Even research on seed dispersal bybirds looks mostly at the way the birds behaved within corridor-connected patches of habitat and not so much at the success of

WINTER 2006-07 • 5

Habitat Corridors and Biodiversity

The Land Trust’s Emerald Necklace Project is an example of creating a “conserva-tion corridor” to reverse the detrimental effects of habitat fragmentation onnative species

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from AroundOur Region...

Hikers enjoying the annual late fall nature walk at the Steege HillNature Preserve (profiled in this issue on page 4)

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Volunteer Sara Kersting leading hikers during last summer’s 2006Talks and Treks Canadice Lake Pond Exploration and Bike Trip

6 • THE LAND STEWARD

Volunteer Tom Reimers (left) and conservation easement donor Jim McConkey (right),admiring a chestnut stump fence on the easement property, which protects 168 acres ofprime farmland and mature forest

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“Our tools are betterthan we are…

They suffice to crackthe atom, to commandthe tides. But they do

not suffice for theoldest task in human

history: to live on apiece of land without

spoiling it.”

– Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

Finger Lakes Community College Educator Rob Wink introducing a local resident during “Bugs of The Wesley Hill Preserve,” part of lastsummer’s Talks and Treks series

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The Land Trust’s latest conservation easement, on the Eyerproperty, includes the protection of this beautiful waterfallwhich runs along the property’s southern border, directlyinto Seneca Lake (see story on page 3)

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REVolunteer stewards inthe western lakes regionattending a workshopled by Land TrustStewardshipCoordinator and GISSpecialist KarenEdelstein (lower right)

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Now part of the Emerald Necklace, the Babcock property features diversehardwood forests that are visible from both Route 13 and Treman StatePark (see article on page 1)

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8 • THE LAND STEWARD

Thomas Eisner, J. G. Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecologyat Cornell, believes strongly that organizations like the Land

Trust are in the best position to save our remaining natural areasfrom human destruction.

“Everybody … should give as much as they can [toward landconservation], even if it’s just a nickel a week,” Eisner says. “Evenchildren can learn not to buy a candy bar and use the money tobuy lunch for an insect.”

Eisner is known world-wide for his groundbreakingresearch in entomology, evo-lutionary biology and chem-ical ecology. He is also anoutspoken advocate for envi-ronmental conservation,president of the XercesSociety for InvertebrateConservation, a co-founderof the Lindsay-ParsonsBiodiversity Preserve and amember of the Finger LakesLand Trust AdvisoryCouncil.

Along with being aworld-renowned scientistwith a zeal for invertebrates,Eisner is also an author, pho-tographer, musician andconductor. He seems to haveinherited both a passion anda talent for the arts. Hismother was an artist, hisfather a chemist “whoshould have been a pianist.”

Eisner, who learned to play the piano at a very young age, hasa special fondness for Bach, a composer whose music is a modelof order and symmetry. He has also been the conductor of theCornell orchestral group BRAHMS (Biweekly RehearsalAssociation of Honorary Musical Scientists). He points out that,in fact, there is a great overlap between science and music: afterall, both scientists and musicians must be creative within clearlydelineated constraints. According to his reckonings, mathemati-cians are most often musically inclined, followed by chemists,physicians and biologists. Eisner has more than once managed tocombine his passions for music and science. For example, he andhis wife Maria have hosted several piano concerts to raise fundsfor the Land Trust. Furthermore, he once agreed to deliver apaper at a conference only if he were also allowed to conduct theuniversity orchestra — he was.

Although he claims that the only things he can draw areinsects under a microscope, Eisner is, in his own words, “blessedwith the talent of seeing beauty in nature” and has been inspiredby his mother’s Kandinsky-influenced paintings. He has con-

tributed to the making of many film documentaries, includingthe multiple-award-winning Secret Weapons, a fascinating look atthe chemical defenses of insects. He is also the author of severalbooks, most recently For Love of Insects, which is lavishly illus-trated with his own photographs. With Maria’s help, he has usedeverything from a digital camera to a scanning electron micro-scope to document the natural world. The images he produces are

beautiful and often strange:insects frozen in the midst oftheir insect business, the del-icate colors of autumnleaves, the filaments of a spi-derweb. “Waiting for a filmto develop,” he says with asmile, “is sweet anxiety.”

Since Parkinson’s dis-ease has put many of his pre-vious artistic endeavorsoff-limits, Eisner has devel-oped a new artistic tech-nique that uses a color copymachine. He first becameaware of the artistic potentialof copiers while studying thefeeding patterns of caterpil-lars on leaves protected bynoxious chemicals. The usualpractice in such studies is totrace the leaf on paper bothbefore and after the caterpil-lar feeds in order to see howmuch, and which parts, ofthe leaf the insect consumes.However, Eisner took an

unorthodox approach and used a copier to document the leavesinstead. Intrigued by how clear and three-dimensional the result-ing images were, he began to experiment with the machine. Hediscovered that he could arrange natural objects on the copierstage, cover them with black velvet, and scan them, in essencephotographing them from beneath. Some of his images arewhimsical animals made out of shells; others are arrangements offlowers and leaves, as symmetrical and beautiful as a Bach can-tata.

Dr. Eisner has made it a little easier to “buy lunch for aninsect” by generously donating a set of ten images (made by botha scanning electron microscope and a color copier) to the LandTrust. These images, which have been made into postcards, are forsale through the Land Trust office in Ithaca, with all proceedsgoing to the Emerald Necklace conservation project. See FancifulDesigns on page 10.

—Jacqueline Stuhmiller

Tom and Maria Eisner outside their home in Ithaca

Thomas Eisner and the Art of Nature

D O N O R P R O F I L E

Board Developments

Ahearty welcome to new board members Chris Proulx and BobWerner.Chris Proulx is Chief Executive Officer of eCornell, a Cornell-

owned company dedicated to serving the executive and professionaldevelopment needs of individuals and organizations through on-line education programs developed by Cornell faculty. A resident ofIthaca, Chris is active in both community and environmental issuesand, when not developing e-learning applications, prefers to be out-side hiking, biking, or gardening.

Bob Werner is Professor Emeritus of Environmental and ForestBiology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestryin Syracuse. He serves on the board of both the Tri-CountySkaneateles Lake Association and the Upstate Freshwater Instituteand is Chair of the Skaneateles Lake Monitoring Committee andCo-Chair of the Town’s Aquatic Invasive Species Committee. Boband his wife Jo live in Skaneateles.

“Bob and Chris bring to the board a variety of professional skills and experiences that will further enhance the breadth and scope ofthe organization’s leadership,” remarked Board Vice-President and Board Development Chair Brad Edmondson.

Please join us in giving them a warm welcome!

WINTER 2006-07 • 9

New Board Members Chris Proulx and Bob Werner

plant dispersal along corridors the birdsused.

In a recent issue of Science, ecologistsrevealed the fruits of a 5-year study, indi-cating for the first time the vital impor-tance of corridors in retaining nativeplant biodiversity. The study showed thatnative plant species occurred in greaterdiversity in corridor-linked habitats thanin isolated habitats. In fact, the rate ofbiodiversication outpaced the expecta-

tions of the researchers. Their speculationis that as animals and birds took advan-tage of the landscape corridors betweenformerly isolated fragments, they unwit-tingly carried plant seeds with them –– ontheir coats, in their digestive tracts. Also,plant pollinators, such as bees and butter-flies, are known to follow the corridorpathways.

Corridor critics have expressed con-cern that invasive plant species wouldseize the same opportunities open tonative plants in this conservation scheme.

The recent Science study, however, showedno significant corridor effect on thespread of invasives, which is to say thatinvasives spread no more between patchesconnected by corridors than betweenunconnected patches. One reason for thisfinding may be that invasives are bynature aggressive seed dispersers and notreliant on contiguous wild lands, as somany native species are.

As habitat corridor studies, and thedebates accompany-ing them, move for-ward, a conservationstrategy once basedon little more thanintuition canincreasingly dependon demonstratedmanagement tech-

niques to succeed in its goal of promotingbiodiversity and protecting at-risk species.

Knowing which species will –– andwhich won’t –– benefit from conservationcorridors is crucial to this success, as isfinding ways to off-set any negative effectsof corridor function. Finally, moving awayfrom single-species studies and focusingmore on broad, community-wide effectsof corridors will help us understand thelarger picture of what we might accom-plish with future conservation efforts.

––Eben McLane

Habitat Corridors and Biodiversitycontinued from page 5

We are deeply grateful for donations

in memory of:

Lynne AbelFROM

Dick and Betsy DarlingtonKaty GottschalkDavid Gross and Judith Bernstock

John and Ida Wolff

Lucy AndrewsFROM

Carol D. Fudge

Charlie BrownFROM

Barbara Hamlin

Lucy Foote DrysdaleFROM

Bill and Janet Allyn

Dave HamlinFROM

Bonnie Hamlin

Prof. Don HayesFROM

Patty and Tom Davis

Charles and Ann JankeyFROM

Walter and Sarah Medlin

Robert N. ThompsonFROM

Genevieve S. Thompson

Dr. Donald RainesFROM

Greg and Ruth Morris

In a recent issue of Science, ecologists revealedthe fruits of a 5-year study, indicating for thefirst time the vital importance of corridors inretaining native plant biodiversity.

Our sincere thanks for a gift in honor of

the wedding of :

Marty Schlabach and

Mary Jean WelserFROM

Janet McCue and Robert Kibbee

Our deepest appreciation for a gift from:

Linda and Larry Orkin of Orkin Dental Laboratories

in honor of their client dentists.

Victor & Elaine MansfieldFROM

Steve Smolen

Buzz & Gretchen RobertsFROM

Gwen Guernsey

Mrs. David SheppardFROM

Mary Lee Kokosa

Mrs. G. William GregoryFROM

Mary Lee Kokosa

Jim and Mick ElyFROM

Kristin and Bill Ely

Peter & Betty StahlbrodtFROM

Barbara HamlinMike Stahlbrodt

David S. & Linda M. Marsh

Alex & Michele ThurberFROM

Alice Thurber

Dick & Betsy DarlingtonFROM

Lois Darlington & Alfredo RossiJean Darlington & Eduardo Marchena

Our sincere thanks for gifts in honor of:

10 • THE LAND STEWARD

FANCIFUL DESIGNSMUSEUM QUALITY

FULL COLOR POSTCARDS

ARTWORK BY TOM EISNER

Can be purchased at the Finger LakesLand Trust office in downtown Ithacaor by calling 607-275-9487.

Postcards come in sets of 20 (two eachof ten designs)

Suggested donation: $14.00 per set of20 or $25.00 for two sets of 20

Proceeds to benefit the EmeraldNecklace Conservation Project

Looking for Signs of Spring?Join us for The First Annual Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest.Over Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28), participants will count bird species on Land Trust preserves, enjoying the dazzling diversity of local avifauna while raising pledge money for the Land Trust.

Birders of all skill levels are welcome. Mark your calendars now and look formore details in the next issue.

During a recent Talks and Treks at Ellis Hollow NaturePreserve in Dryden, Tompkins County, I led a group of noisy

hunters through the woods. There was no point in being quiet:we were looking for mushrooms. The summer of 2006 had beenone of the best mushroom seasons I can remember, and allmanner of fungi were sprouting everywhere. We didn’t have to gofar to find what we were looking for.

Mushrooms are mysterious, seemingly sprouting upovernight and disappearing almost as quickly. Few know abouttheir secret lives in the forest.

For most of its life, a mushroom existsunderground. Its body is composed ofbranching, gossamer threads not muchthicker than a spider’s web. Although theyare too small to see, these threads — themycelium — are the second most abundantorganisms in soil, right after plant roots. Amycelium can inhabit a single acorn, or itcan course through many acres of forestsoil. We even know of a few mycelia whosebiomass exceeds that of a blue whale.

When it is time to reproduce, themycelium produces fruiting bodies like thestately mushroom in the photo. The mush-room sheds spores that travel on the windto start new mycelia. Next time you see amushroom, think of it as merely the appleof a gigantic underground apple tree.

Many common autumn mushroomsform symbiotic relationships with trees.Underground, their mycelia partner withtree roots, where a little-known exchangetakes place. The tree brings sugars to thefeast; it creates them high up in the canopythrough photosynthesis. The fungus part-ner brings hard-to-find micronutrients likephosphorus and nitrogen. This is a perma-nent banquet.

Examination of the fine roots of treesreveals clubby root structures called mycor-rhizae (pronounced “mike-o-RYE-zee”).Within the mycorrhizae, fungus and planttissues are found in organized layers madefor food exchange. Without their mycor-rhizae, the trees would be stunted or dead. Mycorrhizae also pro-tect trees from some root diseases and buffer the effects ofdrought.

A single fungus mycelium in the forest may be hooked up tomany different trees, and a single tree may be hooked up to manyfungi. The result is an astonishingly interconnected fungal net-work that underlies the forest. Through this network, maturetrees can shuttle nutrients to seedlings, supporting their growthuntil they break through into a patch of sunlight.

Many mushrooms, including some of the most delicioustypes like truffles, porcinis and chanterelles, are mycorrhizal with

forest hardwoods and conifers. Despite many efforts, these mush-rooms have never been cultivated without their tree hosts. They’reso expensive because they must be hand collected from a healthyforest.

The deadliest mushrooms are also mycorrhizal, like thedestroying angel, a single cap of which might kill. The genusAmanita is an awfully good mushroom to learn first. These statelymushrooms have white gills, a white spore print, a basal bulb (orvolva), and usually have a “skirt” or annulus around the stem.

Although some Amanita species are edible,only very experienced mushroom huntersshould eat them, because of the risk ofconfusing them with toxic species. Themost toxic Amanita species, A. bisporigeraand A. phalloides, kill about 60 percent ofpeople who eat them, despite medicalattention. While Amanita bisporigera iscommon in our area, A. phalloides is anintroduced European species found hereonly in isolated populations in Californiaand Rochester, New York.

Not all trees form mycorrhizae withmushrooms. Maples and most herbaceousplants, for example, have mycorrhizal part-ners that belong to an even more secretiveand tinier group of fungi, the Glomeromy-cota. It’s thought that these ancient fungiwere critical in allowing the first plants toevolve on land.

Mycorrhizal fungi are key players inecosystem function — a forest’s secretstrength. They can be vulnerable, too. Ahandful of non-photosynthetic plants likeIndian pipe, squawroot, and beechdropsare parasites of mycorrhizal fungi. Theyentice fungi to form a partnership, butgreedily decline to give anything back.

Recent evidence suggests that someplants compete with each other by affect-ing the community of mycorrhizal fungiaround them. Invasive garlic mustardattacks mycorrhizal communities byexcreting soil toxins that suppress fungineeded for native tree and plant growth.

There you go: the secrets of the mushrooms revealed. Well …some of them. Fungi have many more surprises up their sleeves,but that’s a story for another day.

––Kathie T. Hodge, Asst. Professor of Mycology,Cornell University

VISIT KATHIE’S MUSHROOM BLOG:http://hosts.cce.cornell.edu/Mushroom_Blog/

A C L O S E R L O O K

Mushroom Secrets

WINTER 2006-07 • 11

The destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera)was abundant in the Ellis Hollow Preservethis summer. This all-white mycorrhizalmushroom is handsome but deadly.

KATHIE

T.H

OD

GE

WINTER 2006-07 CALENDAR

SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 10:00 am – noon

Wesley Hill Late Winter RambleJoin Land Trust President Jim Kersting for a hike at the Wesley Hill

Nature Preserve over moderate terrain (ski, snowshoe, or walk, depend-

ing on conditions). A more challenging side hike will be an option for

those interested. Meet at the Wesley Road parking lot (not the Gulick

Road parking lot).

See our web site for maps and photos of the preserves.

WALKS GO RAIN, SUN OR SNOW. PLEASE BRING SNACKS AND WATER,AND WEAR STURDY SHOES. CALL THE LAND TRUST AT 607-275-9487 FOR DETAILS.

Finger Lakes Land Trust202 E. Court StreetIthaca, New York 14850

Wish List...Quality lopping shears

Finger Lakes Land Trust

Officers:Jim Kersting, PresidentBrad Edmondson, Vice PresidentAnn Weiland, SecretaryJim Fralick, Treasurer

Board Members:Katherine Borgella Chris ProulxNick Gavrielides Don RakowBob Growe Nancy RobbinsBarbara Hamlin Stephanie SechlerHoward Hartnett Bob WernerAlbert Joerger Scott Winkelman

Advisory Council:James Byrnes Suzanne LeeThomas Eisner Robert MrazekJohn Fitzpatrick David ZornTed Hullar

Staff:Andrew Zepp, Executive DirectorRaul Aguirre, Land Protection SpecialistAbbey Chernela, Office ManagerBetsy Darlington, Director of Preserve

StewardshipKaren Edelstein, CE Stewardship

Coordinator, and GIS SpecialistEmily Eisman, Outreach and Membership

CoordinatorBetsy Landre, Senior Field RepresentativeMark Whitmore, Stewardship Ecologist

Newsletter Editors:Eben McLaneKrishna Ramanujan

Newsletter Layout:West Hill Graphics, Inc.

Advisors:Legal Counsel: Elizabeth Bixler; SusanBrock; Dan Hoffman; Randy Marcus;Miller Mayer, LLP; Peter Miller; RichardRuswickForestry Consultant: Michael DeMunn Founding President: A. Carl Leopold

Western Lakes Chapter:Jim Kersting, Chair 585-367-2301

Eastern Lakes Chapter:Kris Scholl, Chair 315-497-3066

Keuka Chapter:Debbie Koop, Contact 315-595-2523

Finger Lakes Land Trust202 E. Court Street

Ithaca, New York 14850Ph: 607-275-9487 • Fax: 607-275-0037

email: info@fllt.org • www.fllt.org

Western Lakes Office P.O. Box 620

Canandaigua, NY 14424Ph: 585-880-9934