College taking new steps to protect sensitive area

Skidmore College will offer an educational session and discussion on public use of its North Woods on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 4:30 p.m. in the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall conference room, second floor. Light refreshments will be served.

The session will focus on vulnerability of the property and new guidelines to protect its natural environment. Skidmore?s North Woods, a 250-acre area connected directly to main campus, is home to numerous native species, including migrating songbirds and 33 types of ferns. With southern oak, hickory, and northern hardwoods as well as ponds and marshes, the woods support a biologically diverse animal and plant population that is important to student and faculty research. Much of area is also available for public use.

The North Woods provide the bulk of the buffering capacity against acid rainfall for the Loughberry Lake reservoir, according to Sue Van Hook, senior teaching associate in biology at Skidmore and editor of an illustrated field guide titled Treasure in the North Woods.

As willing as Skidmore has been to let students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community share this space, ?It?s showing signs of overuse,? says Van Hook. ?The college has dedicated new resources to publicizing and enforcing policies to protect this property. We want to explain our efforts to the public and get feedback.?

The guidelines ask visitors to carry out all trash and litter, leaving the woods as clean or even cleaner than when they entered. Visitors are asked not to disturb students and faculty engaged in research and educational activities and to be careful not to disrupt laboratory experiments.

Dogs are allowed only in designated areas and must be leashed at all times. Owners are expected to clean up after their dogs.

The main entrances to the North Woods have kiosks with maps showing three designated areas: Educational and Research, Educational and Recreation, and Wilson Chapel-Meditation. Usage guidelines are listed for each of the areas.

Certain activities are prohibited in the North Woods, including the use of motorized vehicles, biking, littering, possession of firearms, hunting, trapping, overnight camping, and the building of structures.

For more information, contact Robert Kimmerle, Skidmore?s director of community and media relations, at 518-580-5733, bkimmerl@skidmore.edu.