Riparian North


Concept

This project is seeking to enhance a section of a continuous stream 6-8 feet wide and extending some 250 yards north-south from where it enters ChicoryLane property to where it is joined by another stream that flows east-west. The area of concern extends some 50 feet on each side of the stream, varying according to the topography. The stream is the primary natural feature of the area along with several dozen native plant species, including three varieties of Viburnum. The main focus of the project is enhancement through increasing seleced species, reducing less desirable or invasive ones, and introduce several complementary species not ccurrently found in the area.

The Streams

Chicorylane includes three streams that flow into the property from the North and the East, merge, and flow out as a single stream to the SouthWest.The largest, perenial stream, sometimes referred to as Brush Mountain Run, emerges from springs near the top of Brush Mountain, flows down a wooded cut in a shoulder of Brush Mountain and passes under Green Grove Road to wind through ChicoryLane’s marshy old fields; bypass its farm pond; to merge with a smaller, occasionally intermittant stream, sometiems referred to as Green Grove Run. The merged streams gooseneck along vernal pools in a restored wetland. They leave ChicoryLane to flow south along Brush Mountain Road, cross under Rt. 45, before joining Penns Creek beside Klein Rd. A third, small unnamed steam  flows out of an adjoining pasture, through a Cattail Marsh, before quickly entering the larger steam close to its entry point and above the merge with Green Grove Run.

Part of ChicoryLanes’s long-term goal to enhance the Ecological Quality of the property includes the waters of the streams flowing through the property. During 2022, Suzy Yetter, Ecologist with Clearwwater Conservancy, who holds ChicoryLane’s Conservation Easement, began a biological assessment and coarse inventory of the aquatic macroinvertebrate community of these streams. Her study is multi-faceted and ongoing, but results to date indicate that ChicoryLane steams provide good biological conditions that  provides excellent instream habitat to support a very diverse group of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Indeed, with a Index of Biotic Integruty (IBI) score of 90.3 for sample values collected to date, ChicoryLane Waters in the Riparian North section currently appeart to be in excellent biological condition. For details, see Suzy Yetter’s report, Stream Biological Assessment For ChicoryLane Farm (Spring, 2022). These data and analyses will enable us to note any changes to water quality resulting from up-stream changes or other factors.

Steps