In order to protect and perpetuate life on the Preserve’s lands, we use the latest generation of scientific research techniques, and support our research staff, visiting scientists, and interns who monitor the environmental systems of the Shawangunk Ridge as part of our “living laboratory.”
Mohonk Preserve prioritizes the use of ecological knowledge to drive land conservation and management decisions. As an accredited land trust and well-known nature preserve, Mohonk Preserve undertakes numerous activities that support our primary mission to protect a large, contiguous portion of the northern Shawangunk Ridge. Management and land acquisition decisions are supported by the Preserve’s legacy of natural history monitoring and the integration of current approaches to conservation and climate resilience. By prioritizing conservation and the incorporation of ecological knowledge, Mohonk Preserve strives to balance human use of the land to retain environmental and cultural integrity long into the future.
Our Conservation Science Staff conduct numerous long-term monitoring projects including:
- Weather Observations (1896 – present)
- Phenology Observations (~1912 – present)
- Ground Springs Water Quality (1930 – present)
- Woodland Pool Monitoring (1955 – present)
- Breeding Bird Surveys (1975 – present)
- Lake Temperature/Clarity Profiles (1985 – present)
- Deer-browse Impacts on Forest Vegetation (2017 – present)
- Grassland Vegetation Communities (2017 – present)
- Forest Health and Landscape Change (2018 – present)
Through our community science programs, the Preserve also engages with our local community to help us collect scientific data on invasive species, peregrine falcon breeding, phenology, and stream water quality. We are a strong proponent of open-source data, publishing many of our long-term datasets on data repository sites such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Environmental Data Initiative (EDI), and Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC), National Phenology Network (NPN), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Researchers actively monitor the changing ecology of the Shawangunks and are using this information to sustain a regionally important ecosystem. Ongoing bird and vegetation surveys have documented changing wildlife populations and changes in the habitats on which they depend. Through forest management, staff are working to build integrity and resilience in our habitats against ecological threats.
Continuing a Tradition of Conservation Science
The Preserve is also extending the rich legacy of the Mohonk Preserve Daniel Smiley Research Center by adding to one of the best long-term phenological records in the country. Combined with more than a century of daily weather data, we provide a tremendous dataset that is shared with scientists and students, and published in scholarly and scientific journals worldwide.
Over a century of unparalleled research, collections, and natural history are embodied in the Mohonk Preserve Daniel Smiley Research Center. Applying this data to understand our changing world is of utmost importance. Your support today will ensure that this renowned resource will continue to contribute to our knowledge of nature into the next century.
Banner photo by Gerald Liddelow