Central & Western: Alvar Barrens and Grasslands

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Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Alvars are prairie-like landscapes that rest atop a limestone bedrock foundation. Scientists disagree on the reason there is so little soil on alvars—they may have been swept away during a cataclysmic drainage of glacial waters, or swallowed up by abundant fissures in the limestone. In any event, what remains is a flat, rocky landscape of grasslands, limestone woodlands, cedar forests, pavement barrens and globally rare plant communities. This site is part of a group of North American alvars that lie scattered along an arc that stretches from northwestern Jefferson County, through Ontario, to northern Michigan.

Threats
Invasive species, like swallow-wort, buckthorn and shrubby honeysuckle are choking out the native grassland and plant communities unique to this landscape. Disrupted movement of water by culverts, impoundments, and pavement can alter natural flooding cycles.

Plants
Prairie smoke, wood lily, yellow lady's slipper, wild columbine, harebell, prairie grasses like poverty oat grass and prairie dropseed.

Pale swallow-wort is a dangerously aggressive alien plant that invades limestone-based soils throughout the central and western New York area. We have collaborated on a website to provide help. For more detail on this weed that may threaten your own property, visit www.swallow-wort.com.

Animals
Ruffed grouse, upland sandpiper, whip-poor-will, bobcat, porcupine, golden-winged warbler, prairie warbler, black and white warbler, and scarlet tanager

Our Conservation Strategy

Continued, rigorous efforts to control swallow-wort
Land protection through conservation easements and outright acquisition

Conservation Actions

In 2003, we teamed up with private landowners and public agencies like Cornell Cooperative Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Service to treat more than 525 acres of lands infested with swallow-wort, an invasive plant that threatens to overwhelm the alvar landscape.
In 2002, we acquired three key tracts of land on this site: 285 acres adjacent to our Chaumont Barrens Preserve, 103 acres of grasslands, and 97 acres at our new Three Mile Creek Barrens, expanding our total alvar holdings to nearly 4,000 acres.

How To Visit
Our Chaumont Barrens Preserve is located within this site.

Partners
Private landowners, Jefferson County Soil & Water Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cornell Cooperative Extension, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Kraft Foundation, 6-Plus Club