Description:

Located on the south shore of Rubber Thread Pond and adjacent to City Hall, this tiny, but popular half-acre conservation in the center of town has big management issues, as well as many assets. The property, located on the south shore of Rubber Thread Pond is primarily used for fishing. The shoreline here is accessed by a trail through a forested strip between the pond and Lake Street. At the east side of the conservation area there is a small parking area,a gazebo, picnic site, and steps down to the water. At the west end of the property is a small open area under two large sugar maples.

The woods along the shore contain primarily sugar maple, red maple, and red oak, with lesser amounts of Norway maple, black locust, paper birch and white ash. The shrub layer is mostly sugar maple but also contains Norway maple, false indigo (a non-native but non-invasive species), Japanese barberry and several other native and non-native species. The ground layer is a mix of herbs, ferns, and grasses, most of which are native.

Assets:

Despite the challenges from being an in-town park, this property provides city dwellers a taste of nature, and does have valuable habitat features for wildlife. The landscaped area has been thoughtfully planted with a variety of non-invasive fruit-bearing shrubs. A shadbush tree planted by the parking area provides ripe fruit for birds.

This park is a rejuvenating spot for people on their lunch break, nearby residents seeking some contact with nature, or for fishing.

Trails: Yes

Description:

This conservation area, at the far east side of town on East Street comprises 4.64 acres including the E. Florence Smith nature trail. The area is bisected by the Manhan Rail Trail into two parcels of unequal size, with the substantially larger area located along the Manhan River floodplain. A parking pullout with a picnic area is on East Street, and from here a trail goes east, passing beneath the Rail Trail on an abandoned road to reach the lower portion of the area. Vegetative cover varies across the site, including a Northern Hardwood forest, Mixed Hardwood-Hemlock Forest, High Terrace Floodplain Forest, and Transitional Floodplain Forest.

Assets:

This is a nice example of a floodplain forest with easy public access. Though the property is small, there are several trails that cross through all the forest types. It hosts a nice variety of native plants with remarkably few invasive plants. A rare sedge has been reported in the lower portion of the property in the transitional floodplain forest. Another interesting, though not rare plant is the native shrub bladdernut, which is abundant at the west end of the property.

Three rare animal species have been recorded in the NHESP database as occurring in or near this conservation area. This stretch of the Manhan River is also classified as Living Waters Core Habitat.

Accessible to the Public: Yes

Trails: Yes