SKLT has expanded its forest stand and habitat improvement projects at our Browning Woods property.
This past summer and fall, we have continued our forest environment improvement efforts by clearing undesirable and overcrowded forest growth in the 250+ acre Browning Woods and adjacent Kenney properties. These lands host the popular Browning Woods Trail, set amidst hundreds of acres of mixed hardwood forest, wetlands, and streams that protect water quality in Worden’s Pond and Pasquisset Pond in Charlestown.
With the funding and guidance from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, we have been able to hire professional forest consultants, develop habitat enhancements for such ground-nesting birds as ruffed grouse and woodcock, install plantings to benefit pollinators, and hire loggers to carry out clearing work.
Hikers on this trail will notice a new four-acre thinning area on the southeast side of the loop trail, and a new half-acre clearing to accentuate the historic background of the old Browning Homestead, which once stretched from Worden’s Pond to Block Island Sound. Farther along the loop, hikers will see another four-acre patch clearing with brush piles for habitat enhancement and a six-acre thinning completed last year. These amendments, though perhaps a bit rough looking at first, will improve the health and biological diversity of this beautiful expanse of woodland.
