Ruth Reynolds Glunt Nature Preserve (at Saugerties Light House)

Saugerties, Ulster County, New York

17 acres

Directions:

Located along the Hudson River at the confluence of Esopus Creek.

Take US 87 north to exit 20 (green mileage marker 100.8) for Saugerties; turn right at the traffic light onto Route 32; follow this road into the center of Saugerties; turn left onto Route 9W; go straight for four blocks; at a T-intersection turn right onto Mynderse Street (9W goes to the left). Follow the road for 1.0 mile and turn right into the lighthouse parking lot just beyond the Coast Guard Station.  

History:

1975  --  Saugerties historian Ruth Reynolds Glunt publishes Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson.

1978  -- the Saugerties Lighthouse placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This was greatly due to the efforts of Ruth Reynolds Glunt, widow of Chester B. Glunt, former U.S. Coast Guard light attendant stationed at Turkey Point, Saugerties, NY.

Mrs. Glunt was friend to many of the lighthouse keepers along the Hudson River and she campaigned to save lighthouse, one of which was the Saugerties Lighthouse. Architect Elise Barry also helped save the Saugerties Lighthouse.

1985  --  the Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy was established to restore and maintain the lighthouse, a building on the verge of crumbling.

1986  --  the lighthouse and surrounding wetlands were sold to the Conservancy for $1.

1990  -- the lighthouse, furnished in 1920s decor, was restored and reactivated.   The structure is open to the public and welcomes guests as a bed and breakfast.

Trails:

There is a ½ mile long Light House Trail through the Ruth Reynolds Glunt Nature Preserve to the Saugerties Lighthouse. There is some mild tidal flooding.

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=678

8/27/04.  This is a short walk on a peninsula out to the Saugerties Lighthouse.  There is woods and some marsh.  Our Jack Russell terrier Sonar enjoyed playing in the marsh at the water's edge and digging into the sand, a much softer place to dig than into the rocky soils of Hastings-on-Hudson where his backyard is located.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney and Torrey Botanical Society (TBS)
* = plant found in bloom  on day of field trip, August 27, 2004

Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder maple)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Catalpa sp. (catalpa)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (willow)
Tilia americana (basswood)

Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spice bush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honey suckle)
Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed) *
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Clematis virginiana (virgin's bower)
Cuscuta sp. (dodder) *
Dioscorea villosa (wild yam root) 
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amaranthus cannabinus (salt marsh water hemp)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) *
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed) *
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut) *
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack in the pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Aster novi-belgii (New York aster) *
Bidens comosa (straw stem beggar ticks) *
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks) *
Bidens sp. (beggar ticks)
Chelone glabra (white turtlehead) *
Chenopodium ambrosioides (Mexican tea)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Commelina communis (Asiatic dayflower) *
Epilobium coloratum (purple willow herb) *
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) *
Eupatorium fistulosum (trumpetweed) *
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset) *
Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed)
Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed) *
Hosta sp. (hosta)
Impatiens pallida (yellow jewelweed) *
Lemna sp. (duckweed)
Lilium canadense (Canada lily)
Lycopus sp. (water horehound) *
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Mentha arvensis (wild mint) *
Mimulus ringens (monkey flower) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Osmorhiza sp. (cicely)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Pilea pumila (clearweed) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum arifolium (halberd-leaved tearthumb) *
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) *
Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper) *
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb) *
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Sagittaria latifolia (broad-leaved arrowhead)
Scutellaria galericulata (marsh skullcap) *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solidago gigantea (late goldenrod) *
Sparganium sp. (burreed)
Stellaria pubera (giant chickweed) *
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue) 
Trapa natans (water chestnut)
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Urtica dioica var. dioica (stinging nettle)
Vallisneria americana (water celery)
Xanthium strumarium (clotbur)

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex lupulina (bladder sedge)
Scirpus americanus (three-square bulrush)

Grasses:
Elymus virginicus (Virginia wild rye grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Zizania aquatica (wild rice grass)

Ferns:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)