Natural Heritage

This area has many problems, including disturbance by ongoing and past land uses. A walk along this segment of Cascadilla Creek traverses a wide range of vegetation types: lawn, weedy former pasture, marsh, disturbed shrubland, and floodplain forest.

The meadow south of the creek has a variety of European and native field plants suited to dry sites. Parts of this area may have become drier when Cascadilla Creek was channelized. For example, spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), wild carrot (Daucus carota), and wild pink (Dianthus armeria) are abundant.

North of Cascadilla Creek, near Judd Falls Road, is a remnant of wetland that retains a surprising number of interesting native species, such as rough goldenrod (Solidago patula), sedge (Carex bromoides), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), and skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).

The floodplain and adjacent banks of Cascadilla Creek include native species typical of such habitats: cottonwood, American sycamore, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), white ash, black walnut (Juglans nigra), white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum), and riverbank grape (Vitus riparia). Non-native shrub species are abundant and are those typical of frequently disturbed sites. This site is important for educational and recreational uses.