Exploring Wetland in Copeland Forest by Snowshoe

On a sunny and mild day on March 4, 2026, Bob Bowles and Kelly Drope headed out from Parking Lot 1 to explore a wetland area in Copeland Forest.

 The Copeland Forest is on the edge of the Oro Moraine, both of which feature major discharge areas for clean, fresh, cold drinking water from the many aquifers and seeps. Bob is a well-regarded local naturalist and environmental expert who has been hired by the Copeland Forest Friends Association to undertake an eco-survey of the forest. His inventory study is based on hydrology, and he has made a map of the 10 different headwater tributaries of the Coldwater River that are present in Copeland Forest. Our goal was to explore the wetland area where the headwater of the CRT6 (Coldwater River Tributary) approaches CRT 3 in order to obtain a first-hand look at the physical environment and track the movements of the resident mammals. This is a remote area and hard to access most of the year. The best way is to cross over CRT3 in winter or early spring when the ground is still frozen to reach the headwaters of CRT6.

 Our first observations were a multitude of cattails and coyote tracks. The cattails have seeds which are eaten by mice and voles in the winter. These are in turn hunted by the coyotes. Above on the right is a picture of where the coyotes gathered and hunkered down before their nocturnal hunt.

 This picture shows a mouse or vole trail underneath the snow leading to a cattail.

We crossed the open area to the hemlock and pine forests. 

This American Larch or Tamarack tree shows evidence of the presence of either a Black-backed Woodpecker or an American Three-toed Woodpecker. These woodpeckers forage for insects by flaking or scaling bark from tree trunks, rarely excavating deeply into wood.  We also saw the work of a Pileated Woodpecker with its usual deep extraction hole in the trunk.

Common greenshield lichen                                             Oakmoss lichen

Some interesting lichen were noted on trees.

A tamarack or larch sapling with small cones.

We found tracks of more than one moose in the deeper forest. The tracks mingled with many deer tracks. The amount of deer droppings indicated that there were many of them that wintered there and browsed on the hemlock trees.

We found a stand of the invasive Phragmites australis near the headwaters of CRT6.  Also noted near this area were orange marking tags on trees, indicating hunting activity.

This concluded our exploratory hike by snowshoe.