The Natural Order and Open Space

The Natural Order and Open Space

The Orange County Hounds Conservation Foundation recently hosted a trail ride leaving from Muster Lane Farm. This is to support the mission of the foundation to promote conservation and preservation of open space and an appreciation of field sports.

By Marcia Woolman

In order for nature to thrive, it needs a natural setting, what we create with open space and conservation easements.

Given the space and time to follow its natural course, land will heal itself, water will remain clean, and wildlife habitat and wildlife will thrive. Land will heal itself by proliferating new growth. Fallow fields carbon dioxide from the air.

The roots will grow deep and soak up heavy rains before a field turns to mud and fill the local streams with sediment that kills the small invertebrates providing food to all kinds of fish and little creatures at the bottom of our food chain.

Insects and bugs are food for all the wild creatures that then become food for larger animals that have access to them. Yes, fields that are out of sight or along the streams are priceless in their importance in developing a balance in nature.

The same principles apply to all fields that are healthy. And how to keep them healthy? Proper annual or semi-annual seeding helps maintain a well-rooted carpet of food. These time-managed fields feed the livestock-for enjoyment and the ones we use for health and vitality.

Pastures where fencerows and wetlands are mowed around or, better yet, fenced off, allow them to return to their natural or fallow field value. Those areas, when lying beside mowed and valuable pasture land, turn into a sanctuary for wildlife and further protection for streams as they control run-off and flooding. They also allow the growth of native trees that will sprout up and provide shade eventually and become homes for more little creatures and some larger ones like raccoons, possums, and squirrels.

Woodlands are another part of the natural puzzle that exists on the land we choose to protect as open space. And open space is more than open fields; it’s the composite of a natural, whole, landscape that’s a balanced natural habitat. This is what we know as our countryside.

Young trees provide food for birds and deer. And for balance, we also need older woods that have an abundance of dead trees. They hollow out with age and become castles for squirrels, raccoons, opossums, pileated woodpeckers, and many others. The old tree, when it finally falls, turns into soil that’s enriched by the fungi that has grown on and in it. That tree gives back everything it took up from the earth and returned it enhanced. Decaying trees are an integral part of balanced, natural, open-space lands.

Woodlands are home to a cotillion of diverse wildlife who use it for food, shelter, and security. Trail cutting is a wonderful use of the land for our enjoyment, and lets in sunlight to promotes a web of life as they wind through the forest. They create more food and more diversity. It’s up to us now to take charge of creating more open space so our children and grandchildren can enjoy what we have had and now plan to protect. I once saw an old sign dangling from a fence while fishing in Idaho some thirty years ago. “Fishermen welcome!” it read. “Please leave it like you find it. We are only stewards for our time here. We are taking care of it for the Lord.”