HUNTINGTON — Earlier this week, the Wild & Scenic Westfield River sent an invitation for a pop-up tracking event, “Snow Tales and Trails.” On Wed., Jan 21, a few brave souls met at Stanton Hall for a hike to the Stevens Property, which is owned and managed by the Hilltown Land Trust, to observe what animals had visited there since the recent snow.
Led by Jess Applin, a conversation and stewardship manager at the Hilltown Land Trust, they saw moose, porcupine, coyote, deer and “sweet tiny mouse tracks,” said Merydith Babcock of the Wild & Scenic Westfield River.
Babcock said she was happy to see the moose tracks. “Moose need a large area. It’s exciting to see there’s a healthy population gathering,” she said about the property near Norwich Lake. She also said there is always concern with moose about too many ticks wearing them down, but they didn’t see any sign of a lot of scratching.
“The wonderful thing about that property is it’s part of larger linking landscapes … There’s a real effort to connect these large pieces and get conservation restrictions on lands so they would have a corridor.”
The pop-up was Babcock’s idea. A tracker herself, she said it’s something they are going to try several times this winter. After a snowstorm, she will let people know within 24 to 48 hours where and when they will be gathering. Anyone wishing to receive an alert can sign up at westfieldriverwildandscenic.org.
“Once they sign up there, people can let me know, and then I can contact them and give them the site, parking and any last-minute adjustments,” she said, adding that people who go on these outings will need to dress for the cold and have the proper gear.
Babcock said that part of the idea is to get people looking for tracks around their own homes.
“Part of my interest in letting people know is to get them to look down in their own yards and their own fields. It’s so important to connect with all the critters that are also using the landscape. We’re so often human-centric,” Babcock said.
“I love seeing the birds and the porcupines,” she added.
