of the Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Inc.News BulletinNews Bulletin

Gibb House167 Mianus River Road

Bedford, New York 10506www.mianus.org

(914) 234-3455

Fall 2011 Volume LVIII

Dedicated to preserving, protecting and promoting appreciation of the natural heritage of the Mianus River Gorge and the quality of its watershed.

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Tim Evnin Elected Trustee Chairman

(see page 2)

Salute to JP Vallés(see page 2)

Welcome Bryce O’Brien(see page 2)

Mianus Watershed Reports

(see page 2)

Staff Publishes Scientifi c Papers

(see page 3)

Volunteers Lend a Hand(see page 3)

Summer Interns 2011(see page 4)

WTPs on Nick News(see page 4)

Kyle Bardwell at this year’s Intel ISEF

Kyle Bardwell First Award at INTELFirst WTP to Earn National Recognition at Prestigious ISEF Event

Congratulations to MRGP Wildlife Tech Kyle Bardwell

who took First Award in the Animal Science section at the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles! Th e Intel ISEF is the world’s largest and most prestigious pre-college science competition. Th is year’s competition drew over 1,500 high-school students from 65 countries, regions and territories.

Kyle Bardwell’s research was on the eff ect of urbanization on occupancy and detection rates of eastern screech owls in suburban areas. Owls are important predators in the suburban ecosystem and most fl ourish to an extent in our area. However, we know very little about why they are found in a particular suburban area versus another.

In order to learn about the distribution of two common owl species the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) and the barred owl (Strix varia), Kyle set up a multi-county citizen science study entitled “Who’s Whooing in Your Backyard?” where volunteers performed call playback surveys for owls in their backyards. Kyle’s project included designing and maintaining a project website and Google map site, recruiting volunteers via training workshops,

and an online data submission system. After receiving data from over 100 volunteers, Kyle modeled the landscape-level habitat use patterns as functions of owl site occupancy. Kyle’s data was used to fi nd out where these owls live, if they co-occur, and what habitats and areas they tend to live in or avoid. His results will be published in Northeastern Naturalist in early 2012.

Kyle is currently attending the SUNY School for Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

research & educatiOn

Please visit us at www.mianus.org and check out our new features and updated content!

Just Launched: New MRGP Website

2  Mianus River Gorge Preserve  Fall 2011

OrganizatiOn newsWelcome Bryce O’Brien

MRGP is pleased to announce that Bryce O’Brien has recently joined our Board of Trustees.

Bryce is a Partner of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC. An avid outdoorsman and conservationist, Bryce currently serves on the Board of the Palisades Park Conservancy, a charitable organization involved with the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission. He is also on the Boards of Part Of The Solution (POTS), a community center in Bronx, New York, and the Perkins Gardens Trust for Wave Hill. Bryce and his wife, Samantha, and two children live in Bedford.

Tim Evnin Elected MRGP Board Chairman

and stewardship at MRGP. “Through the foresight and fortitude of our founders, the MRGP has been protected now for almost 60 years. Our hope is to continue to expand our boundaries and protect more of the watershed while expanding our knowledge about its complex ecosystems”.

In addition to his leadership role at MRGP, Tim also serves on the board and is the Treasurer of Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. He is a lifelong resident of Westchester County and lives in Bedford, NY, along with his wife, Mary, and their two children, Caroline and Timothy.

OrganizatiOn news

watershed PrOtectiOnMianus Watershed Reports Available Online

The Mianus River Watershed Council and MRGP have just completed a comprehensive report on lands in the lower watershed that are of priority for protection.  The report can be viewed at www.mianusriver.org/home/encouragestewardship.html.

MRGP is also working with the South Western Regional Planning Association (SWRPA) on a management plan for the entire Mianus Watershed, a project funded in part by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection through a United States EPA Clean Water Act Section 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant. A draft is currently available on-line athttp://www.swrpa.org/Default.aspx?Regional=280#dRAFTS.

The Mianus River Gorge Preserve (MRGP), in Bedford, New York, is honored to announce the appointment of Tim Evnin to the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees, effective May 7, 2011. Prior to his appointment, Tim served as President of MRGP. He succeeds Jean-Paul Vallés, Ph.D. who served as Chairman of MRGP since 2003 (see below box).

Tim is a partner at Evercore Wealth Management, in New York City. He also is the co-manager of The Wall Street Fund, an equity mutual fund advised by the firm.

Tim’s interest in conservation runs in his blood. Tim’s great grandfather was William Lukens Ward who is the Ward in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. William Ward was known for his vision in planning and acquiring open space for Westchester’s superior system of parks, golf courses and preserves.

Tim hopes to continue his family’s strong tradition of land protection

Last May, Jean-Paul Vallés retired from his position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MRGP. Over his eight year tenure, Jean-Paul proved himself to be a tireless and passionate leader of our organization.

Among his accomplishments, JP oversaw our successful LTA Accreditation Process, which involved a multi-year policy and procedural review and strategic and long-term planning. Under his leadership, 73 acres of land were protected from

A Salute to Jean-Paul development. JP opened a dialogue with our neighbor, the United Water Company, and attracted several new trustees who have contributed a great deal to MRGP. He also oversaw important changes in our accounting and investment procedures.

We have been very fortunate to have JP’s service for many productive years.We thank JP and Carol Ann for their many levels of support and for being such good friends to the Gorge.

Fall 2011  Mianus River Gorge Preserve  3

Thank You to Our Recent Volunteers!cOmmunity

Estimating the population of an animal is a critical piece of information for habitat management. It is usually the first thing the public want to know, but it is the hardest for a biologist to answer: How many animals are out there? When it comes to deer, there are plenty of ways to count them, but it’s never an easy thing as deer do not come with name tags and they do not stand still.

One techique to non-invasively estimate deer abundance uses camera traps. In short, biologists use

MRGP Researchers Improve Method to Census Deer

photographs to count the number of uniquely branched-antlered males. Then the ratio of males:females photographed is used to extrapolate from the abundance of branched antlered males to the abundance of females.

Camera trap estimations can have some bias as bucks tend to be camera-shy. By estimating the differences between the sexes, Mark Weckel along with high school Wildlife Technician, Frank Secret, were able to correct for this difference. Their findings will be published this December in Wildlife Society Bulletin: 36.

research and educatiOn

Dr. Rowland Shelley, Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Gorge staff recently coauthored a scientific paper describing the novel occurrence of the yellow-spotted millipede Boraria stricta in our area. This species was found almost a decade ago in the Gorge and in recent years has multiplied very rapidly and can be found almost everywhere in the Preserve. B. stricta has not been found outside of its native range in the southeastern US before.

MRGP staff and WTP student Miwa Wenzel are currently investigating the habitat associations and distributions of this species as well as potential competitive effects on other invertebrates and litter-dwelling and stream side amphibians. Millipedes in this family, including B. stricta, secrete a cyanide compound when stressed as a defense mechanism (people who happen to handle the millipedes should avoid touching their eyes and wash their skin after contact) so we are interested in B. stricta’s effect on invertebrates and other small organisms that share the same space on the forest floor.

The paper was published in the most recent issue of Insecta Mundi.

Gorge Coauthors Research Paper on Exotic Yellow-Spotted Millipede

We would love to keep you in the loop. Contact us via our website or call us at 914-234-3455 to sign up for our R&E email updates.

MRGP is the only known location of B. stricta outside its native range in the Appalachian hills of the Carolinas.

Interested in Receiving Updates on our Research and Education Efforts?

In May, a group of young children and their families from FaVoRS spent their Sunday helping to clear trails. FaVoRS (Family Volunteer & Recreation Sundays) is a volunteer club for families who want to engage, involve, and educate their children in the concept of "doing good". For more information visit www.westchesterfavors.org.

On September 22, a team of 37 volunteers from Nestlé Waters, North America out of Stamford, CT, worked at the Gorge to help repair trails that had been heavily damaged from recent Tropical Storm Irene. The Nestlé volunteers rerouted the green trail with cedar logs, cleared drainage ditches, and spread a massive pile of wood chips to protect sensitive tree roots.

research and educatiOn

4  Mianus River Gorge Preserve   Fall 2011

(From left to right) Kelsey, Sylvia and Jeff surveying salamanders and millipedes in a Bedford stream bed

This year’s undergraduate interns, Kelsey Wellington (New Hampshire College), Sylvia de la Piedra (Cornell University) and Jeff Chieppa (SUNY School of ESF) were kept very busy this summer undertaking and assisting with several Gorge research studies.

Over the six weeks, interns helped our high-school students and staff biologists investigate the distribution of two-lined salamanders and the exotic yellow-spotted millipede throughout northern Westchester; estimated the effective “sampling area” of remote wildlife cameras; performed camera surveys in NYC and Westchester parks; and overhauled our deer

exclosures. Last week, we received this update from Kelsey about how her hands-on experiences this summer has helped her back at college:

“I recently began an undergraduate research project here at school involving camera trapping, which made me think of the Gorge and all the wonderful experience I gained from my internship. Seriously, the whole reason I was given the grant for my project was because I worked with Reconyx cameras over the summer. I cannot thank you and everyone else at the Gorge enough for the amazing opportunity you guys gave me. I learned so much and it’s awesome to be able to put my new knowledge to

use! I’m working with a professor on a bobcat abundance survey. It’s up to me to come up with a protocol to standardize differences in camera types (ex: Reconyx vs. Cuddeback) so that citizen scientists with many different camera types can participate in the research and contribute data. I set up my first traps today. Thanks again!”

2011 Summer Interns Assist in Research Projects at Gorge research and educatiOn

cOmmunity

This late September, over 80 friends and neighbors of MRGP gathered at the home of John and Leslie Needham to learn more about the Gorge. The Needhams’ home overlooking the Gorge was the perfect venue for this event and we thank John and Leslie for their hospitality.

The next time you are hiking at the Gorge, please stop by our new kiosk built by Rich Carpino. The kiosk will be regularly updated with information about hiking conditions, natural history and research currently being conducted at the Gorge.

Anthony Evnin (left) and John Needham, host of the event.

New Kiosk at Map Shelter

Friends and Neighbors at MRGP GatheringWTPs on Nick News!

On Sunday, November 13th, our high school Wildlife Technicians, Jason Bonet, Anahi Naranjo and Mike Rosenthal, were featured on a news segment airing on Nickelodeon’s Nick News. The news segment was called “Dangerous Crossroads: Human Animal vs. Wild Animal” and it showed how kids are trying to make a world where animals and humans can co-exist in the same space. Our WTPs spoke about their research with coyotes and interactions with humans in the NYC metro area.

If you missed the segment, please view it by visiting our website under Publications, In The News.

research and educatiOn

Executive Director Rod Christie showing a map of MRGP properties to guests

Chairman Tim Evnin introducing guests to the history and accomplishments of MRGP