Introducing the Rohunta Barrens Conservation Area
The most recent addition to Mount Grace’s conserved landscape is also one of our most exciting acquisitions to date! Located along the shores of Lake Rohunta in Orange and New Salem, the new Rohunta Barrens Conservation Area is a hidden gem that will provide opportunities for hiking, hunting, and other outdoor recreation. Remarkably, the land also has the potential to be restored to a globally rare ecosystem that supports many rare and threatened species.
Nearly 200 acres in size, this parcel was a generous gift to Mount Grace and included a significant financial contribution to support stewardship of the property. Earlier in the year, Mount Grace staff surveyed the land and were excited to find a mix of oak and lowbush blueberry growing amongst stands of white pine and eastern hemlock. The extremely poor, sandy soils contain lots of gravel – an indication of glacial outwash that was typical of the region following the melting and retreat of glaciers at the end of the last ice age, roughly 10,000 years ago. Connecting these clues, our environmental detective work suggests that the oak–pine–hemlock forest we see today once looked very different.
Restoring a Fire-Influenced Habitat
Historically, this landscape would have been dominated by pitch pine, scrub oak, white oak, blueberry, huckleberry, and warm-season grasses such as bluestem. These so-called barrens habitats looked more like open woodlands or savannah than the closed-canopy forest currently present — and, most importantly, they were shaped by periodic fire. Over time, fire suppression and land conversion have gradually reshaped the forest and diminished the quality of habitat available to rare and threatened wildlife.
Much like finding a beautiful antique car tucked away in an old barn, this landscape can be restored to a barrens community. In doing so, we will provide important habitat for declining species such as Eastern whip-poor-will and Barrens buckmoth. Initial forestry work will focus on tree removal and reducing fuels loads in preparation for the eventual reintroduction of fire to the landscape through controlled burns.
Stewardship Plans for our Newest Conservation Area
While our restoration work will likely take a decade or more, our efforts to improve recreational access will be more immediate. Long managed as a working forest by W.D. Cowls, the property already features a network of forest roads that run through the property. These woods roads, combined with surprisingly flat topography, lend themselves to accessible, multi-use trails for people of all abilities. Additional design and planning work are still ahead, but the Rohunta Barrens Conservation Area has the potential to offer one of the longest accessible trails in the North Quabbin region.