September 15, 2024 - An iNaturalist get-together in Royalston, MA
Hello, everyone! We had so much fun at last year's get-together on top of Mt. Watatic that I've been meaning to organize another time to meet this summer, so mark your calendars for Sunday, September 15th at Tully Lake in Royalston, Massachusetts.
This is a casual opportunity to meet other iNaturalists in a spot with lots to explore. This isn't a bioblitz, although of course we'll be excited to make observations of everything we see! Please come even if you're new to iNaturalist, or feel like you know hardly anything about the natural world, or are a shy introvert who really would rather fade into the forest - this get-together is for everyone. Dogs are welcome on leashes; ditto children - they don't even need a leash.
The Details:
Tully Lake is a 1300-acre Army Corps of Engineers flood-control site; here's a link to a map of the site: https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/Recreation/TUL/TULParkMap2013.pdf). The dam holds back at least 200 acres year-round. The Trustees of Reservations run a tent-only campsite (https://thetrustees.org/place/tully-lake-campground/) at the north end of the lake and they rent canoes and kayaks for use on the lake at the campsite as well. The 22-mile Tully Trail runs through the Army Corps property and there's also a trail around part of the lake. There's a boat launch for small motorboats near the dam and a canoe launch just north of the lake, off Doane Hill Road, for paddling upstream along the East Branch of the Tully River. In other words, there are many different habitats we can explore here.
If you're thinking of making this part of a weekend trip, there are many other conservation areas in the vicinity, as well - the Tully Mountain, Millers River, and Birch Hill Wildlife Management Areas; the Arthur Iverson Conservation Area owned by the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust; and the Trustees' Royalston Falls, Doane's Falls, and Jacobs Hill Reservations, among others. If you're curious about these other areas, just ask; I've probably been there.
Importantly, for our purposes, there are picnic tables and toilets on and near the dam and boat launch, which brings me to...
Times and Places:
Come for whatever part of the day you like; don't feel that you need to participate in everything.
Noon: Bring your lunch and let's all meet to eat at the picnic tables near the boat launch, just north of the dam, off Rt. 32. If it's convenient for you, bring a folding chair in case there isn't enough bench space to go around. I'll have (totally unofficial) iNat bumperstickers to hand out, plus whatever other printed materials of interest I can round up - maps of the Tully Trail, MassWildlife magazines, brochures from the Athol Bird and Nature Club, and the like.
9 AM: Meet at the parking areas on top of the dam (over which Rt. 32 runs) and I'll lead a very casual walk, just to see whatever we can find. The habitats here will be the lake itself, a boggy shoreline, a damp-to-dry meadow, and mostly coniferous woods.
2 PM: Meet at the canoe launch parking area off Doanes Hill Road, just north of the lake, and we'll walk north along part of the Tully Trail that follows the East Branch of the Tully River. Habitats here include wetlands bordering the river, mostly deciduous woods, and (if we walk far enough) small streams falling down the steep slopes of Jacob Hill.
If anyone else wants to organize a walk, let me know and I'll add it in here. If (CORRECTION: Saturday night!) Friday night is not rainy, I will probably set a moth trap or two and check them early Saturday morning. If you're interested in seeing the moths, let me know and I'll work out how we can meet.
Important!
Rain will cancel the events. Also, because Tully Lake is a flood-control site, if the region gets very heavy rain (like a hurricane) in the preceding week, there's a chance the Army Corps will have to flood much of the areas we might want to visit. If that happens, we will cancel and I'll post something here, but also feel free to message me on iNat to ask what's up.
Here I'm going to tag everyone I think might be interested; please invite anyone else you think might be interested. Let's hope for good weather and I'll see you on the 15th!
@adamkohl, @agave6_tomwalker, @allison_smnr606, @anyiki, @berkshirenaturalist, @btk, @bvanney, @cbuelow45, @ceiseman, @cpellegrini, @danlharp, @davidhsmall, @dcr_dwsp_nr, @deparia1950, @er1kksen, @ginny-d, @jackcadwell, @jcarm, @jformanorth, @jljones, @julie_richburg1, @jwhitney0986, @karolina, @karro_frost, @landfrog, @maygrz, @mcharpentier @mikeakresh, @mohale, @mtjones, @mushroompride, @natemarchessault, @naturalist2073, @pat_huckery_masswildlife, @patswain, @radbackedsalamander, @ryanwilliams27, @selise, @stevemirick, @stevetobin, @tarpinian, @threepogonias, @tmurray74, @trustees_ecology, @tsn
