BIODIVERSITY AT GREAT MOUNTAIN FOREST
GMF supports an abundance of diverse wildlife species, such as resident white-tailed deer, moose, black bear, turkey populations, nesting sites for neotropical migrants, and migratory waterfowl. The forest cover provides a habitat for a diverse furbearer population, both predator and non-predator. Perennial streams and ponds, wetlands, and vernal pools contain healthy beaver, amphibian, reptile, fish, and other aquatic life.
Sustainable forest management practices provide niche habitat requirements for species to thrive. This is done through tree and brush cutting rotations to create early successional habitats.
GMF has seven ponds covering over 78 acres of the Forest. There are 341 acres of swamp and wetland, which creates superb wildlife habitat and provides some measure of flood and fire control.
BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH
Great Mountain Forest has a long history of supporting forest research. Many research institutions and their affiliates utilize GMF because of its locale, long-term ownership, diverse ecosystems and continuous weather collection data for the past 90 years.
Here is a list of past and current research on Biodiversity.
AUDUBON CT FOREST BIRD HABITAT ASSESSMENT
Audubon biologists, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) technicians, and a Connecticut licensed forester conducted this assessment to determine what birds are currently utilizing GMF habitats, describe and assess current forest bird habitat conditions in the Forest, and make recommendations for protecting and improving habitat for a suite of priority forest birds.