Goldsby Preserve
off Pond Hill Road, Chappaqua, New Castle, Westchester County, New York
6.5 acres

A Saw Mill River Audubon Society nature preserve is located approximately one block away.

Directions:

Saw Mill River Parkway north to exit 32; left onto Quaker Street; at the light go straight through and turn right onto Douglas Road (heading west); drive 0.6 of a mile and turn right onto Kipp Street (passing by the Cameron-Murtfeldt Wildlife Area); drive 0.1 of a mile and turn left onto Pond Hill Road; park on the right as the road curves to the left, between houses #7 and #15. 

History:

2004  -- donated by the Goldsby Estate.

Habitats:

wetlands, upland forest, steep slopes, a stream along the eastern edge

Trails:

No trails at this time. 

The land stretches in a fat semi-circle heading toward Meadow Lane. 

11/30/2004.  Parked between houses #7 and #15.  Had to cut an opening passed the invasive species to head downhill.  Passed through a huge patch of Pachysandra.  Very quickly the area becomes extremely wet.  The preserve is in a valley or swale between two rows of houses.  And it was really tough trying to make headway through all the invasive species.  The number of these species really surprised me.  I thought the wetlands would limit the infamous invasive plants.  But there is a patch of dry land between the stream on one side and the marshy/shrub swampy area on the other. There is lots and lots of Morrow's honeysuckle, and, worse for the bushwhacker, lots of multiflora rose also.  I walked to the back of the preserve thinking I could reach the brook and walk up stream.  But the water was surprisingly deep (over my boots).  So I had to cut my way through lots of areas to make any progress at all. I did not stay long given the great difficulty of making any progress through the preserve.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, 11/30/04

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)

Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ilex crenata (holly) ?
Ilex verticillata (winterberry)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Pachysandra terminalis (pachysandra)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Viburnum spp. (viburnum)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Euonymus fortunii (Fortune's euonymus)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Epilobium sp. (willowherb)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Iris sp. (yellow or blue flag)
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Mimulus ringens (monkey flower) according to the preserve's literature
Myosotis sp. (forget-me-not)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Scutellaria lateriflora (mad-dog skullcap)
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)

Sedges:
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)

Grasses:
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)

Ferns:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)