Just how much do deer affect vegetation at Balch Hill?  To find out, we are working with Dartmouth Professor Craig Layne and students in his Ecological Methods class on a long-term experiment at the Natural Area. In 2012, we erected a number of fenced “exclosures” to foil hungry deer. Here are the results – after just one year, the number of plants in the fenced areas (shown in blue) were almost twice the number in places (shown in red) where deer could get at them. Stay tuned for updates.

After three years’ work to control invasive buckthorn, honeysuckle, barberry, and Japanese knotweed that had overrun the floodplain at Mink Brook, we replanted with 2000 native trees and shrubs. The species selected are well-adapted to water level changes and offer excellent food and cover for birds and other wildlife. Silver and red maple, red osier dogwood and elderberry, and others will occupy the space formerly taken by invasives. For a few years, they’ll remain protected by mesh sleeves against the efforts of hungry beavers and deer.

Thanks to our volunteers, including the Hanover Lions Club, who worked alongside our forester, Ehrhard Frost of Full Circle Forestry, and his crew. The project is supported by a cost-share grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and a generous gift from the Hanover Lions Club. Thanks also to Hanover/Norwich Youth in Action for checking on the plantings, pulling garlic mustard, and improving trail surfaces.