Landscape

The locally named Indian Woods is a rare old-growth remnant of upland forest that slopes northward to merge with deciduous-mixed swamp surrounding the mid and upper reaches of Bauman Creek. As well, these woodlands connect in amoeba-like fashion with Blair Road Slope Woods, Manor House Woods and Barn Woods. Collectively, they form a somewhat contiguous 60 ha of mature and maturing woodlands.

Indian Woods is home to more than a dozen species of birds dependent upon its old-growth characteristics and very large, old trees, swamp, cavitied trunks and branches, decaying windfalls and sunlit forest gaps. Eastern screech-owl, five species of woodpeckers, scarlet tanager, brown creeper and ruffed grouse are found here. Winter wren sings persistently along the creek. The catch-basin ponds in spring attract wood ducks and are spring habitat for frogs and salamanders. Under the canopy of red and white oaks, white ash, basswood and white pine, is a ground cover of ferns, shrubs and flowering plants in a mix of Northern Hardwood and Carolinian species. A third of the 17 species of ferns identified on the property, including interrupted fern, lie within Indian Woods. Unpalatable to white-tailed deer, spicebush thrives in the understory of the mixed swamp. The regionally rare squawroot grows at the base of massive oaks. The mid-reach of Bauman Creek supports brook trout. A small drainage basin with little contact with croplands, Bauman Creek in its mid and upper reaches, boasts water of high quality.

Vision

The vision for Indian Woods is to protect and enhance this remnant of old-growth upland forest and to provide limited access for educational and research purposes. To protect the undergrowth and ground cover, walking trails will skirt the perimeter, offering a scenic vista of large, two-hundred year-old trees whose canopy filters mid-day sunlight and holds moisture of the early morning dew.

» Click Here to visit the Indian Woods Photo Gallery «