Nature Conservancy Removes Road Sections from Finzel Swamp to Save Trees

Habitat restoration project aimed at restoring the natural hydrology and improve habitat for native wetland species

Finzel, Maryland—May 9, 2005—The Nature Conservancy has completed a road removal project to help revive ailing larch trees at its 333-acre Finzel Swamp and restore the natural hydrology of the swamp to benefit native wetland species.

“Finzel Swamp is one of the state’s ecological jewels – one of the most significant mountain peatland communities in western Maryland,” said Deborah Landau, conservation ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Maryland/DC. “Finzel Swamp is one of only two places in Maryland where larch trees grow and serves as the southernmost reach of the larch population.”

A Conservancy preserve since 1970, Finzel Swamp is located in northeastern Garrett County along the border of Allegany County just south of Pennsylvania. Known locally as “Cranberry Swamp,” it forms the headwaters of Little Savage River, a tributary to the Potomac River. The swamp is a popular site for birdwatchers, naturalists and local college field classes.

The Nature Conservancy hired a contractor in early April to remove three 40-foot sections of a road, which was built through the swamp in the 1940s. The road was used previously to access a house on the east side of the swamp.

“The road appeared to be causing alarming mortality among the larch trees,” Landau said. “Older trees were drowning, while seedlings couldn’t take root because of the high water levels. By removing these three sections of road we hope to revive the larch population.”

If the trees do not regenerate on their own, Landau said the Conservancy may transplant seedlings to the northern side of the swamp from the southern side, where the larch trees have had more success.

The contractor replaced the road sections with raised wooden bridge spans, so that water can once again flow across the swamp while still allowing public access. The project was funded through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant and a donation from a private foundation. The Nature Conservancy also contributed funds to the project.

Shortly after the Conservancy acquired Finzel Swamp, Conservancy staff became alarmed by the unusually high mortality of larch upstream of the road. The Conservancy hired researchers to determine what was killing the trees. The American larch is a medium-sized tree, also known as eastern larch and tamarack.

In 1981, the Conservancy worked with the local Soil Conservation Service to install new culverts under the road. During the mid-1990s, all of the culverts began to be routinely dammed by beaver or blocked by debris. In 1997, the Conservancy installed a 14-foot wide arched bridge-culvert, but it too became dammed by beavers. The recently installed bridge spans were constructed to deter beaver from blocking the flow of water.

The swamp provides excellent habitat for more than a dozen other state-listed plant and animal species, including five bird species, a butterfly, two mammals and eight plants. Finzel Swamp also was identified recently as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its nearly one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States—including more than 64,000 acres in Maryland—and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/marylanddc.