above 90 m. In a small number of wetlands in north- 

 western Rhode Island, cedar grows in association 

 with two boreal species, black spruce (Picea 

 mariana) and larch {Larix larina) (R. Enser, pers. 

 comm.). 



Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), a 

 broad-leaved evergreen shrub which is common in 

 upland areas of the southern Appalachians (Fernald 

 1 950), is locally common as an understory species in 

 both deciduous and evergreen wetland forests in 

 southern Rhode Island and nearby Connecticut. 

 This shrub grows to a height of 2.5 to 4.5 m and often 

 forms such dense tangles that travel through the 

 swamps is exceedingly difficult. As a result of the 

 deep shade created by a dense canopy of cedar and 

 a thick understory of great laurel, herbs are scarce to 

 nonexistent in these swamps (Lowry 1984). 



A striking example of the Atlantic white 

 cedar-great laurel association can be seen in the Ell 

 Pond-Long Pond Natural Areas Complex near the 

 Connecticut line in Hopkinton. There a dense, 90- 

 year old cedar forest containing hemlock as well as 

 great laurel borders the northern and western shores 

 of Ell Pond, which lies in a deep fracture in the local 

 bedrock. The surrounding relief is rugged and 

 bedrock outcrops are numerous. Between the forest 

 and the water's edge is a narrow bog mat dominated 

 by leatherleaf. Peat thickness ranges from 4 m in the 

 forest interior to 8-9 m at the water's edge. The Ell 

 Pond stand, which averages 13 m in height, is 98 m 

 above sea level. Ell Pond and its associated wet- 

 lands represent Rhode Island's only National Natural 

 Landmark. For further description of Rhode Island 

 sites, see Lowry (1984) and Golet and Lowry (1987). 



Connecticut . Thirty-nine cedar wetlands, all 

 but six of them east of the Connecticut River, are 

 known to contain living cedar in Connecticut at 

 present (K. Metzler, pers. comm.). Some sites are re- 

 ported to be in near-pristine condition, some are 

 trampled and debris-strewn, and some are still being 

 logged for cedar A few are in public ownership, but 

 most have no active conservation management. 



Two cedar wetlands were designated as Na- 

 tional Natural Landmarks in 1973: Chester Cedar 

 Swamp, and Pachaug Great Meadow in Voluntown. 

 A cedar log walkway and marked trail traverse a sec- 

 tion of the Pachaug preserve containing over 200 ha 

 of cedar in an approximately 350 ha swamp-bog- 

 sedge meadow complex (K. Metzler, pers. comm.) 

 drained by the Pachaug River Pachaug and at least 

 two other stands are known to contain sizable, vig- 

 orous, dense great laurel populations (Ledyard 

 Cedar Swamp, and Bell Cedar Swamp in North 

 Stonington) (K. Metzler, pers. comm.). Creeping 

 snowberry [Gaulthen'a hispidula) is reputed to grow 



in one privately-owned swamp. North Windham 

 Peat Bog contains a dense 30-ha white cedar swamp 

 with black spruce, unusual in Connecticut. It is a 

 combination not seen south of this point except in the 

 montane Sterling Forest, New York and High Point, 

 New Jersey forests (Laderman, unpubl.). 



Monographs by Nichols (1913) and Taylor 

 (1915), and a master's thesis by Noyes (1939) con- 

 stitute the major sources of historical botanical data 

 about Chamaecypahs in the state. The papers con- 

 tain lists of associated species, brief site descrip- 

 tions, and maps, indicating that of 86 cedar stands 

 known at the time, 85% were east of the Connecticut 

 River 



New York State . Before the agricultural and 

 suburban development of Long Island, cedar 

 swamps were believed to form an almost continuous 

 chain from Brooklyn to Montauk Point (Nichols 

 1913), clustered along the southern edge of the ter- 

 minal moraine that forms the island's spine. As civ- 

 ilization spread, cedar wetlands declined drastically 

 (Torrey 1843; Harper 1907; Bicknell 1908; Taylor 

 1916). 



The primary cause of cedar loss in Nassau 

 County was lowering of the water table when streams 

 were dammed to create reservoirs for the rapidly ex- 

 panding populace. Nassau County today holds few 

 mature cedars, with no evidence of regeneration (J. 

 Turner, pers. comm.). 



In Suffolk County, earlier in this century, 

 many wetlands were lumbered, drained, and cleared 

 for farming. Those remaining are being rapidly 

 replaced by summer resorts and second homes. 

 The county now contains only 11 known cedar 

 stands, most of them quite small. Southampton 

 Township harbors the greatest abundance of cedars 

 in Long Island. The largest New York wetland com- 

 plex containing Chamaecyparis is in a 40-ha area of 

 Southampton's Cranberry Bog County Park, along 

 the southern reaches of the Peconic River (J. Turner, 

 pers. comm.). 



Outside Long Island, the only cedar stands 

 remaining in the state are two small bogs in Sterling 

 Forest, each less than 0.5 ha (Lynn 1984; Lynn and 

 Karlin 1985). 



New Jersey . Glaciated New Jersey has only 

 seven known cedar stands, but it bears the distinc- 

 tion of harboring an Atlantic white cedar swamp in 

 High Point at the greatest altitude recorded for the 

 species. Its elevation of 457 m exceeds that of the 

 next highest stand (in New Hampshire) by 69 m. 

 Only three northern New Jersey sites contain more 

 than a few trees at present: High Point and 

 Wawayanda in Sussex County in the far northwest 



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