LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1495518
LOCALadk 46 In a relatively small area, the Silver Lake Bog Pre- serve encompasses a variety of habitats: a dense white cedar swamp, a spacious black spruce-tamarack bog, hemlock northern hardwood forest, and pine ridge. Even for a visitor unfamiliar with the specific species of trees, the change in environment, although consistently lush and intensely green, is evident as one travels along the easy path. The boardwalk begins and ends in the hemlock northern hardwood forest where the air is cool as the path winds among tall, sturdy trees. The boardwalk, which is as unobtrusive as pos- sible, cuts a small swath through the forest; trees and broad cinnamon ferns grow close to the walkway, their branches and fronds frequently overhanging the walk- way, forcing the visitor to ever so gently push through the greenery. One simply reaches out and may feel the rough bark or the soft needles of the hemlock. The Nature Conservancy wisely allows nature to take its course here, encouraging a space where delicate flowers may flourish untrampled, and where dead evergreen needles and broken branches may stay where they fall, providing nutrients for the rest of the ecosystem as they decay. Over time, branches and even whole trees which fall become covered by moss, adding to the ecological richness of the environment. In the white cedar swamp, visitors should take their time. Stop and look closely. Sit down on the boardwalk and peer over the side at small mounds of delicate peat and sphagnum mosses. Because parts of the Pre- serve are so dense with the spreading branches of the trees, there are many areas that receive little to no sunlight. These areas are also comfortably damp and cool, allowing the mosses and moisture-loving ferns to flourish. The water-saturated soil is ideal for pitch- e dainty flower of the American winterberry (Ilex verticillata) Red-capped British soldiers (Cladonia cristatella) thrive on a rotting branch. Moist sphagnum moss is abundant at the Silver Lake Bog Preserve. A tiny clump of moss, no larger than a dime, is surrounded by two types of lichen.