William K. Love Preserve
West Road, Vista, Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York
11 acres

Directions:

Saw Mill Parkway north to its end; get off at the exit for Route 35; at the light, turn right; shortly before entering Connecticut turn right onto Route 123 (green mileage marker 22 23) heading south; drive 3.7 miles and turn right onto West Road (green mileage marker 10 46);  drive 0.1 of a mile and park along the road. The informal entrance is on the right.

or:

From I-684 take exit 4.  Travel east on Route 172 for 6.1 miles. Bear right on West Lane and drive 0.8 mile.  Turn right on Westchester Avenue (Route 124), which becomes Oenoke Ridge Road, and drive 3.8 miles. Bear left on Lukes Wood Road and drive 1.0 mile. Bear left on West Road. Drive 0.8 mile to the preserve on the left.  Park on the right side of the street.

Geology:

The topography is very gently sloped down toward the central part of the site to a red maple swamp.  The uplands bordering the east and west side of the central wetland are steep-sloped and have rock outcroppings.

History:

2000  --  William K. Love donated the land for the preserve.

Habitats:

red maple swamp

Trails:

There is a short trail that runs straight back from West Road, past the first wetland system to the central open wetland system.

11/29/04.  There are a lot of invasive species near the road, especially wineberry.  Did a bit of trail maintenance along the way.  There are swampy areas on the right and left of the path.  A stream heads down to the swampy area in the center of the bowl.  There are a lot of rock outcrops around the swampy area.  There is a lot of luscious green moss on many of the rocks in the wet areas.  We walked off trail for awhile and then returned to the trail and headed back to the car.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, field trips on 11/29/04, 4/24/05
date = plants found in bloom on date of field trip, 4/24/05

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer spp. (maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush) 4/24/05
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch) lots
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras) 4/24/05
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) 4/24/05
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepper bush)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells)  planted 4/24/05
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) 4/24/05
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry) lots of it
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)  4/24/05
Vinca minor (periwinkle) 4/24/05

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax sp. (greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vincetoxicum nigrum (black swallowwort)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry)
Galium spp. (bedstraw)
Geranium sp. (geranium)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Panax trifolius (dwarf ginseng) 4/24/05
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
Veratrum viride (swamp hellebore)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)

Grasses:
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)

Ferns:
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)