Overview
The Speer Hillside Nature Preserve consists of 26.8 hectares (66.2 acres) of Appalachian Hardwood Forest and is located in Upper Woodstock, Carleton County. The preserve contains many ecologically significant features including species associated with mixed-age Appalachian Hardwood Forest, as well as a wetland which provides essential riparian habitat.
Many rare plant species can be found within the preserve including cut-leaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenate), wood grey sedge (Carix grisea), and American lopseed (Phryma leptostachya).
The preserve is home to important Species at Risk in New Brunswick that the Nature Trust is honoured to protect.
History
The Speer Hillside Nature Preserve was generously donated by Jane Hadley and her brother Robert Speer, in 2019. The preserve has been in the Speer family for generations, and they wanted to see it preserved in perpetuity. Historically, the land was used as a farm, and had been substantially larger, but a large portion of the property was lost due to flooding in past years.
The Speer Hillside Nature Preserve is located within traditional Wabanaki territory.
Ecology
The Speer Hillside Nature Preserve is considered an Ecologically Significant Area, and borders a wetland along the Wolastoq/St. John River, which protects upland areas from flooding and erosion, while also filtering waters from the storm runoff and upriver erosion.
The Appalachian hardwoods, bottomland floodplain forest, and a mature eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis ) slope forest make this an important area to protect for its unique assemblage of species.
The preserve contains several rare and uncommon plant species including, blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), and showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis), and attracts bird species such as blackburnian warbler (Setophaga fusca), and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).
Access and Activities
There is no public access to the preserve. Please contact the Nature Trust office at (506) 457-2398 or steward@ntnb.org for more information about visitation or stewardship opportunities.