New Fairfield Land Trust
8 Ball Pond Road
21.7 Acres

17 Autumn Ridge Road
5.2 Acres

Directions:

US 84 east; exit 5 for Route 39 north; head from Danbury into New Fairfield.  Turn left onto Milltown Road and park near Route 39.  The marsh is across the street.

History:

These were two first parcels for the New Jersey Land Trust.  The two parcels are abutting.

The Town acquired the land as permanent open space from two different subdivisions.

1998 (July 22)  --  the land donated by the Town

Habitat:

The larger parcel is the wide wetland visible on Route 39 directly across from Milltown Road . The land is quite wet and has been known to be the habitat for beavers, fox, deer, and many species of birds.

The 5+-acre parcel is sloping forestland above the swamp accessed from the cul-de-sac on Autumn Ridge Road, where they may create a minor trail loop.

Trail:

7/20/2005.  On a warm day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked on Milltown Road.  I put on my rubber boots, crossed the busy Route 39 and went down the embankment.  The embankment was covered with poison ivy.  Some of the plants had even formed into bushes.  I walked along the marsh looking for a way in, but there is no way but to slog in.  I went in a little ways, but it is just too tough of a task.  Walked on a couple of tussock sedge tufts, but man is that hard work.  They are very wobbly and it takes a lot of energy just to stay on top of one.  To make a long story short, I quit.  Walked farther down the marsh and turned into the drier woods.  I tried to approach the marsh from this point, but that was no good either.  The Phragmites blocked any access or even a view.  Walked back to the car and left. 

Drove north on Route 39, turned right onto Gillotti Road.   In a short drive, turned right onto Titicus Mountain Road; bore right onto Autumn Ridge Road and followed it to its end.  It looked like another strike-out place.  I went into the woods and found a rough informal trail.  There is no direct access to the marsh on Ball Pond Road  -- it was blocked by huge clumps of invasive species.  I gave up, turned around, walked back to the car and left.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

Source:

New Fairfield Land Trust Properties:  www.nflandtrust.org/Properties.htm

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

* = plants blooming on date of field trip, 7/20/2005.  

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier sp. (shadbush)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carya glabra (pignut hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Crataegus sp. (hawthorn)
Fraxinus pensylvanica (green ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus grandidentata (big-tooth aspen)
Quercus alba (white oak) 
Quercus rubra (red oak)  
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Corylus sp. (hazel)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rhamnus frangula (European buckthorn)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Salix discolor (pussy willow)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet)     *
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)     on the highway embankment
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)     *
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)     lots and lots on the highway embankment
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)     *
Agrimonia gryposepala (common agrimony)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)     *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla) 
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Cardamine impatiens (narrow-leaved bittercress)
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Cichorium intybus (chicory)     *
Cicuta bulbifera (bulb-bearing water hemlock)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)    *
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy)     *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)     *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)     *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane)     *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)    
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Galium mollugo (wild madder)     *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Lemna sp. (duckweed)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs)     *
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil)     *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)     *
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower) 
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover)     *
Oxalis sp. (yellow sweet clover)     *
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip)  )
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Sagittaria sp. (arrowhead)     *
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet)     *
Silene latifolia (white campion)     *
Silene vulgaris (bladder campion)     *
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle)     *
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)      *

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)

Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Elytrigia repens (quack grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmundaclaytoniana (interrupted fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis  (New York fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)

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