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This information has been reproduced (with permission) from New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau. Below you'll find trail information as well as detailed natural information. Northern White Cedar Swamps ![]() At least six natural community types, not all of them wetlands, contain a significant amount of northern white cedar. At Hurlbert Swamp, the primary community is called a northern white cedar - balsam fir swamp. This type of cedar-dominated peatland swamp is generally moderately acidic and restricted to northern New Hampshire. In mature examples like this one, the typical natural community structure consists of overstory canopy heights of 40-60 ft. (12-18 m) with occasional to frequent leaning trees and blowdowns. Also look for a moderately well developed tree subcanopy, a sparse shrub understory, well developed hummock-hollow topography, a dense carpet of diverse mosses and liverworts, and sparse to moderate herb cover. Water level fluctuations often change the appearance of the swamp from season to season. Potential rare plant species of cedar swamps (often found in fen-like openings within the swamps) include several varieties of lady's slippers, sweet coltsfoot, chestnut sedge, fairy slipper, and Loesel's twayblade. These rare species are not present in most cedar swamps. |
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Trail Guide ![]() From the TNC sign by the gate, walk in along the grassy road on the swamp's western edge. The old road is nearly flat and quite easy to follow. Soon you arrive at a grassy, open area. The old road continues at the far end, by a mailbox post with a sign-in sheet. Growing in and along the roadway here are perfect-awned sedge (arex gynandra), red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), golden alexanders (Zizia aurea), intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia), and purple avens (Geum rivale). In about a quarter of a mile, a marked trail veers off to the left (east), into a narrow band of dense, young lowland spruce - fir forest community. The distinctly "northern" understory shrubs and herbs here include creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), and velvet-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides). ![]() A black spruce - larch swamp community occurs beyond this area, before the stream crossing. The tree canopy is dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana), with lesser amounts of balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and larch. Scattered herbs growing out of the Sphagnum carpet include bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), goldthread (Coptis trifolia), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), threeseeded sedge (Carex trisperma var. trisperma), threeleaved false Solomon's seal, and creeping snowberry. Peat depths here average about 3 ft. (1 m). ![]() Although most of this seepage swamp contains mature canopy cedar (some individuals are unusually large), rotted stumps from past logging episodes can still be found throughout. The leaning or horizontal trunks of blowdown trees are a common sight here, and the tipped-up root mats frequently expose the mucky substrate below. Alder, spruce, fir, and cedar saplings colonize the open areas caused by these blowdowns, all a part of the natural cycle of disturbance and regeneration in the swamp. |
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Driving Directions
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Property Use Guidelines Please, for the protection of the area and its inhabitants, and for everyone's safety and enjoyment:
![]() This property owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 83 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific. Since 1961, The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire has helped protect more than 265,000 acres of ecologically significant land and currently owns and manages 28 preserves across the state. For more information, call (603) 224-5853 or go to their website at www.nature.org/newhampshire. See The Nature Conservancy's guide to Hurlbert Swamp. ![]() NH Division of Forests & Lands - DRED 172 Pembroke Road - PO Box 1856 Concord, NH 03301-1856 Tel: (603) 271-2215 Fax: (603) 271-6488 The DFL is an equal opportunity employer and educator. This brochure was paid for with funds from the NH Conservation License Plate www.mooseplate.com |
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