Duxbury’s North Hill Marsh

(Note: This article was originally published in October 2013, but was inadvertently left out of this blog.)

For years I have avoided Duxbury’s North Hill Marsh because on my first visit, more than a decade ago, I got lost.

When visiting a conservation area that is new to you, it is always wise to consult a map, and even wiser still to bring a map along. I did that on my second visit to North Hill Marsh, and I enjoyed the walk immensely. Even after 90 minutes I found there was plenty more to explore, so I will definitely be going back.

Located on Mayflower Street, the North Hill Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is managed by both Mass Audubon and Duxbury Conservation. The town owns 823 acres of pine/oak woods and wetlands, while Audubon oversees another 30 acres of upland, plus 90 acres of reservoir and marsh. Together they provide an ideal location for walking, birding and wildlife observation. 

A map of the property is available online. Its sidebars offer a quick history of the land, as well as an overview of the wildlife present there.

I learned from the map that the reservoir at the center of North Hill Sanctuary – as well as the freshwater marsh that surrounds it – was created centuries ago, when the town’s early European inhabitants dammed a brook to power a sawmill and provide water to farms nearby. In the 1920s, ownership transferred to a group of sportsmen, who used the area for duck hunting. A second dam, constructed in 1940 as part of a cranberry growing operation, raised the water level in the pond even more. Mass Audubon now maintains the property as wildlife habitat, thus dead trees are left standing (or lying down, as the case may be), to encourage waterfowl to feed and breed. You might see osprey at North Hill Marsh, as well as great blue heron, black-crowned night heron, great horned owl, red-tailed hawks, and any number of geese and ducks.

The shallow edges of the pond are an ideal location for spotting salamanders, frogs, and turtles, and in the warmer months, there are plenty of dragonflies and damselflies. The small mammals so common to our region – squirrels, chipmunks, mice, raccoons, opossums --  are joined at North Hill by water-loving muskrats, mink, otters, plus coyote and deer, although  many of these you are unlikely to spot in broad daylight.

A well-marked Loop Trail extends all the way around the pond, closely hugging the shoreline in many places. Portions are flat, but some of the trail involves elevation, so it can be a satisfying hike for those hoping to get the heart pumping. There is also a shorter loop through the woods, plus a path than runs more or less parallel to Mayflower Street, through the Frederick B. Knapp Town Forest, which is comprised primarily of tall pines. Additional spur trails connect the property to West Street and Tremont. Visiting the Waiting Hill Preserve, in the northern quadrant of the property, involves a climb to the top of the town’s second-largest hill, which stands at 140 feet above sea level. Alas, trees obscure what otherwise would be a broad view of Duxbury Bay.

North Hill Marsh welcomes visitors daily from dawn to dusk. Boating, fishing, hunting and trapping are not permitted, nor are motorized vehicles. Dogs must be kept under control at all times. 

Follow this link for a map and property guide.

http://www.town.duxbury.ma.us/public_documents/DuxburyMA_Conservation/ConAreas/North%20Hill%2027%20Oct.pdf

by Kezia Bacon

October 2013

Kezia Bacon's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 15 years of Nature (Human and Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com

Camp Wing Conservation Area (Duxbury)

A view of the marsh at Camp Wing.

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I continued my exploration of Duxbury’s open space parcels this month with a trip to Camp Wing Conservation Area on Franklin Street. Initially I was really excited about exploring this large (353-acre) parcel, until I glanced at the map and saw that most of it is wetland. It turns out that only about a fifth of it contains walking trails.

This isn’t such a bad thing. Conservation land that’s not accessible to humans is ideal habitat for wildlife, as it gives it room to roam, so to speak, without the threat of human impact. In the Camp Wing Conservation Area, a two-mile stretch of the South River, along with a variety of marsh and swamp lands, provides a sanctuary for all sorts of birds and critters.

The Town of Duxbury has put maps of its conservation lands online, along with general information about what one can expect to find there. Even after writing this nature column for eighteen-plus years, I feel like I’m just getting started with my knowledge of ecology. So just glancing at the Camp Wing map, I learned a few things.

The Camp Wing Conservation Area features four different types of wetland. One is what’s known as stream-side marsh – the grassy sort of wetland favored by migratory birds. The marsh borders both the South River and its tributary, Phillips Brook. There is also a fair amount of red maple swamp, filled with – you guessed it – red maple trees. And there is also some shrub swamp – where plant species such as blueberry, alder and sweet pepperbush dominate. And finally, there is some fen – a wetland that’s more mossy than the others. (In this case, it’s a former cranberry bog).

Camp Wing itself has been around for generations. It first opened in 1937 as a summer camp for 55 children from the Roxbury and Charlestown Boys’ Clubs. It was named in honor of Daniel Wing, a longtime member of the Board of Overseers of the Boys’ Clubs of Boston. Now known as Crossroads for Kids, the establishment continues to offer programs for at-risk children from all over Massachusetts. In 1998 the camp sold most of its undeveloped land to the Town of Duxbury.

Before that, the properties that make up the camp and the conservation area were owned by the Keene Family. And before that, dating back to the arrival of European settlers in the 1600s, Camp Wing was part of Duxbury’s Common Lands -- to the community for woodcutting, hunting and fishing.

At one point in time, there was a mill in the northern corner of the property. The dam is still there – visible from River Street. The uplands were very likely used as farmland – many of the stone walls have survived. In the last century, there were also cranberry bogs on site, operated by the Consolidated Cape Cod Cranberry Company. These were shut down when Route 3 was constructed in the 1960s. The land was also logged through the end of the 20^th century.

While visible from various vantage points in Marshfield and Humarock, the South River is largely hidden in the town of Duxbury. Yet the river is sourced there, and several miles of its 12-mile course run through the western part of town.

In the Camp Wing Conservation Area, you might catch a glimpse of the river, especially from the observation deck that looks out over the former cranberry bog. You can access it from the East Loop trail. There’s quite a bit to see there – marsh and swamp, rails and bitterns . . . and also Route 3.

The trails are accessible from Franklin Street, where there is a small parking area adjacent to the road. There are two loop trails (West and East), connected by an additional trail. These are all in the wooded upland portion of the property. All of the trails are marked.

by Kezia Bacon, Correspondent

May 2013

Kezia Bacon's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 15 years of Nature (Human and Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com

Duxbury’s Lansing Bennett Forest

The Lansing Bennett Forest is one of many local conservation areas with significant tree damage.  But don't let it stop you from visiting!

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February’s blizzard, and the several springtime windstorms that followed it, wreaked havoc on our local woodlands, as well as our own yards. Even now, months after Nemo, private tree companies are still very busy cleaning up the mess. But due to their significant acreage, our open space areas may face the biggest challenge. Over the past few months, I have received messages from most of our local conservation groups, explaining that the clean-up process in our forests and fields will take time, and urging walkers and hikers to use care.

You’ve probably seen what it takes to remove a single fallen tree from the average yard. Imagine dealing with close to a hundred trees . . . in a remote area with little or no truck access.

This challenge was abundantly evident when I walked last month in the Lansing Bennett Forest in Duxbury. It was my first visit to this 344-acre parcel, a peaceful woodland intersected by Phillips Brook, a tributary to the South River.

The property, originally dubbed Trout Farm, was set aside as conservation land in 1970, when the Town of Duxbury purchased it from the Lot Phillips Company, a Hanover-based outfit that manufactured wooden boxes. The 1.8-mile brook is home to two varieties of trout: brown, and wild brook. It is also the historic location of Howland’s Mill -- founded in 1830 – which was a grist-, and then a sawmill. In later years, there was a trout farm on site.

More recently the name of the property was changed, to honor Dr. Lansing Bennett, who served as chair of the Duxbury Conservation Commission from 1967 to 1979. Dr. Bennett was a tireless advocate for open space, and during his tenure, the Duxbury acquired over 1200 acres.

Access to the Lansing Bennett Forest is on Union Bridge Road, where there is a small parking area parallel to the street. Cross, Summer and Franklin Streets mark the property’s other boundaries. The parcel is also home to a section of the Bay Circuit Trail, 200 miles of walking paths that stretch in a wide semi-circle from Plum Island in Newburyport to Bay Farm on the Duxbury-Kingston line.

While there is a map posted on site, I strongly recommend downloading and printing the area’s property guide, which is available on the Town of Duxbury’s website. The walking paths within the Lansing Bennett Forest follow a loose circle, but there are also many spur trails that provide foot access to and from the perimeter. Bringing a map makes for a much less confusing trip.

The property is mostly upland, a forest comprised primarily of pine and oak.  The trails trace the hills and valleys of kettle holes, a common landscape feature created long ago by receding glaciers. Down by Phillips Brook, you’ll find a maple swamp, with boardwalks traversing the wetter areas. The section of trail that runs directly along the brook is quite lovely.

Being a pine and oak forest, in the section of Duxbury hit hardest by the Blizzard of 2013, the Lansing Bennett Forest has seen better days. Trees are down everywhere. My visit involved scrambling over – and climbing under – numerous fallen trunks and branches. It was actually pretty fun, but if I hadn’t been in the mood for such a rugged experience, I would have had to turn back fairly soon into my walk.

I wasn’t able to connect with Duxbury Conservation to confirm this, but it is very likely that they will attend to the fallen trees soon enough. In the meantime, if you don’t mind a little “adventure,” the Lansing Bennett Forest is definitely worth a visit.

by Kezia Bacon, Correspondent
April 2013 

Kezia Bacon's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 15 years of Nature (Human and Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com

Saving Duxbury’s Last Dairy Farm

On June 14, voters in Duxbury took a giant step toward preserving open space on the South Shore when they chose to dedicate $1.5 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds toward saving Plymouth County’s oldest farm -- the O’Neil Dairy Farm on Autumn Avenue, near the Kingston line.

For those of us interested in protecting open space in our rapidly developing region, this is cause for celebration. The O’Neil Farm is the only remaining dairy farm in Duxbury, and one of few in Eastern Massachusetts. Totaling 142 acres, it would likely be slated for future development if not for the conservation and agricultural restrictions now well on their way to being put in place.

Comprised of two separate parcels on opposite sites of Autumn Avenue, the O’Neil property has been farmed continuously since 1740; the farmhouse itself dates to the 1750s. The family of the current owner, Carl O’Neil, purchased the farm in 1826, and has been working it ever since. Containing both woodland and pastures, it is home to seventy cows. It also provides habitat for a number of wildlife species, including nesting hawks.

One of the few remaining undeveloped parcels of land in Duxbury, the O’Neil Farm is an important part of the town’s history and character. It offers a glimpse of what our region was like 350 years ago. The tractors, trucks and milking machines now in use may be modern varieties, but the pastures and woods – and the presence of grazing cows – call to mind a time gone by.

As late as 1950, Duxbury was home to six small dairy farms. All but one of those have now closed down, the lands sold off for development. In the twenty-first century, the small dairy farm is considered an endangered species.

In 2000, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture recognized the O’Neil Farm as a “Century Farm,” honoring the “ingenuity and perseverance of the successive generations that have worked this land for a century or more.”

“This farm is truly rooted in the history of our Commonwealth and our nation,” the state said, “and is commended for their role in keeping Massachusetts agriculture viable and vibrant as we enter the third millennium.”

You might be wondering – now that the O’Neil Farm is on its way to being preserved, what will happen to it once the O’Neil family no longer is able to maintain it? That’s where we come in.

Conservation and agricultural restrictions will ensure that the land will remain a farm, and thus will not be developed. As for running the farm itself, ownership of the property will be transferred to the O’Neil Farm Charitable Corporation, which will be responsible for finding new workers to operate and sustain the farm when Carl O’Neil retires.

In addition, the Charitable Corporation will develop educational guidelines for the farm and possibly contract with the South Shore Natural Science Center or Mass Audubon to provide programs there for school children. Future generations will go there to learn about dairy farming – to discover how a farm operates, and how our food is produced. The Charitable Corporation will also design, construct and maintain walking trails, and make capital improvements to the house and farm buildings.

Our job is to ensure that sufficient funds are raised to make this a reality. $1.5 million is a considerable sum, but there is still work to be done. A total of $4.3 million will be needed to protect the O’Neil Farm for future generations. The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts has stepped forward to make this happen.

To complete the purchase of the farm, The Wildlands Trust has kicked off a Community Campaign. They plan to raise an additional $1.3 million, most of which will come from foundations and major donors. They are hoping to raise $300,000 at the community level, from people like you and me. They are also seeking $500,000 from the Mass. Agricultural Preservation Restriction program. Private donors have already committed $900,000.

Preserving the O’Neil Farm will save an important piece of our agricultural heritage, and protect a sizable amount of land from development. To find out what you can do to help preserve Plymouth County’s last remaining dairy farm, contact the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts at (781) 934-9018, or visit www.saveoneilfarm.org

By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
June 2004

Kezia Bacon-Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168.