Back in 2023, we posted that The Western New York Land Conservancy was attempting to preserve a 225-acre Chautauqua County forest, adjacent to the College Lodge Forest near Fredonia.
Just yesterday, the Conservancy announced that the once at-risk property is now home to the Floating Fen Preserve – a unique wetland that includes a floating peat mat, “the floating fen,” from which the preserve derives its name.
The Preserve, now open to the public, includes a 2-mile hiking trail that was designed and built by the Conservancy’s stewardship team. The effort, led by Josh Balisteri, ensures that visitors to the site are provided with incredible scenic vistas of the fen, which was formed during the last Ice Age; when the glaciers retreated. These deep cuts in the earth were filled over a millenia, and now offer a diverse and very unique habitat for migratory birds including Veeries, Blackburnian Warblers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and Scarlet Tanagers. The land is also home to rare peatland plants, carnivorous sundews, blue flag iris, and a range of other birds and such as black bears, wood ducks, red-shouldered hawks, porcupines, fishers, and beavers.
The Floating Fen is also located in a tension zone—it is the northernmost range of some species, and the southernmost range of others…