Description
The wild Mianus River rushes through a steep gorge on its way to Long Island Sound. On its cool, moist banks, a magnificent cathedral of 350-year-old hemlocks stand more than 100 feet tall, and beyond the river, lush fern gullies surround the lovely Havemeyer Falls. At the Hobby Hill Quarry in the middle of the preserve, 18th-century mining left a gorgeous mosaic of mica, feldspar and quartz.
The Nature Conservancy holds title to 555 acres, while the remaining 183 acres is owned by the Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation that now manages the entire preserve.
Why TNC Selected This Site
Purchased in 1955, this site is The Nature Conservancy’s first land preservation project. In 1964, the federal government designated the Mianus River Gorge as the nation’s first registered Natural History Landmark because of its old-growth hemlock hardwood forest and rushing river. It is now managed by the Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Inc., a nonprofit land trust, which also owns 183 acres of the preserve.
What We Do Here
The Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Inc., manages the preserve and has several ongoing projects. They study the biological control of the woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that is preying on the preserve’s hemlocks; the control of invasive species of plants and animals; the browsing ecology of white-tailed deer; the potential for wildflower restoration; and eastern bluebird mortality. They are maintaining an ongoing inventory of plants and animals, and protecting land throughout the watershed and adjacent to the preserve through land acquisition, conservation easements and collaborations with local governments.