LOCALadk Magazine

22 Fall 2019 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk passages are needed to restore traditional migrator y routes into the interior of the Adirondacks. This northern extension of the corridor is not complete, but Leibowitz said there ap- pear to be other opportunities along the passage for the pro- tection of large tracts of wild land. As with the plant life, the West Champlain Hills is diverse in its portfolio of animals. Bear and bobcat stalk the woods, as do coyotes, moose, fox, otter, and mink—most any animal that lives in the Adirondacks lives here. Unlike the Champlain Valley, the Hills land exists in larger tracts and with more intact forests because the terrain is de- ceptively challenging. "It doesn't have the dynamics of the High Peaks, but [Eagle Mountain] is a rugged piece of prop- erty," said Bill Amadon, trail steward for C ATS. "And because of that, it hasn't been disturbed that much." The great Adirondack naturalist Jerr y Jenkins, who has done the most to put the West Champlain Hills on the map, wrote that "these may be some of the rockiest low hills in the Northeast." These hills have been scarred by fire and also stand as a picket fence between the lake and High Peaks in the face of storms rolling up the Champlain Valley. Some trees on the summits are likely far older than they appear by size, Ama- don said. "The hills on the west side of the lake are a lot more rocky," said Engstrom. "They have shallow soils, and that gives them a different feel." On the summits, the tree canopies are thin- ner because of this, allowing light to filter down to grasses and sedges. These "dr y-rich communities" are different hab- itats from the surrounding northern hardwood forests that are familiar in the Adirondacks, Jenkins wrote. This diversity also produces additional food in the form of acorns, hickor y nuts, and other mast that cannot thrive at higher elevations. The combination of protected woodlands and rich food supplies increases the strength and diversity of the animal population. In inventor ying the property, Engstrom said he was sur- prised to find jack pine —a stubby conifer that to a degree depends on fire to regenerate —in the Eagle Mountain pre- ser ve, and suspects this might be the highest elevation in the Adirondacks at which it is found. Many trees on Eagle Mountain have escaped the chainsaw over the years. On the trail to Clear Pond are massive white pines, and elsewhere Engstrom found tall stands of red pine perhaps 150 years of age. In addition, cedar swamps, cas- cades of gray lichen, and forests of dark hemlock add to the odyssey, but by no means complete it. Each exploration turns up something new. "Ever y time you turn a corner it's like an entirely new prop- erty," Leibowitz said, adding that the West Champlain Hill re- gion "is the most biodiverse land in the largest preser ve east of the Mississippi. And it's been woefully underappreciated when it comes to wilderness preser vation." The Trust and its allies hope that, beginning with Eagle Mountain, this is about to change.

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