28 January 2010

HIke: Winter Ecology at Hutcheson Memorial Forest

Hutcheson Memorial Forest Tour
Sunday, January 31 at 2:00 p.m.

Tour Leader: Rick Lathrop, Landscape Ecologist

"Winter Ecology at Hutcheson Memorial Forest."

The Hutcheson Memorial Forest (HMF) is a unique area consisting of one of the last uncut forests in the Mid-Atlantic States, along with the surrounding lands devoted to protection of the old forest and research into ecological interactions necessary to understand the forest. The tract is administered and protected by Rutgers University.

It is apparently the only uncut upland forest in the Piedmont of New Jersey, and appears on the National Park Service Register of Natural Landmarks.

Tours leave from the entrance of the woods on Amwell Road (Rt. 514) in Somerset. From New Brunswick, follow Hamilton Street west past JFK Blvd, Cedar Grove Lane and Elizabeth St. HMF is on the left past Gardener's Nook Nursery. The driveway is located just past the guardrail over the brook (map).

The trail may be muddy in places so come prepared.
The tour through the woods and fields takes between one and two hours.

Tours are free and reservations are not required for these guided tours.**

Groups of more than ten persons may not attend the guided tours. Such groups are invited to arrange special tours.

To make special arrangements please contact:
Land Manager, Hutcheson Memorial Forest Center,
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources,
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-932-9349x16,
hmfdirector@aesop.rutgers.edu

For more information and a complete tour schedule for spring/summer 2010 visit: http://rci.rutgers.edu/~hmforest/

**HMF is not open to the public on a daily basis.

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