By Ethan Kearns

Tucked into far western Maryland, this swamp is a biological wonder-and an isolated refuge for species usually found much farther north.

A DC resident since 1999 and an outdoor junkie, I must confess that where West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania meet is one of my favorite areas to visit to get outdoors.

If your passion is rock climbing, you can set up your crash pad at Cooper's Rock, along West Virginia's Cheat River Gouge. If it's whitewater, you can paddle down the famed Youghiogheny River. For hiking, it would be the ridgeline views from Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands trail.

But for wildlife and biodiversity, bypass all those for a trip to Maryland's Cranesville Swamp Nature Preserve. Located at the very western reaches of the state, Cranesville is a 3-mile-long, half-mile wide strip of ecological wonder owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). For the past four years, it's also been the site of an American Forests' Global ReLeaf project that seeks to reforest 250 acres with red spruce and white pine to help maintain an unusual pocket of climate there. The partnership continues through 2007.

Because of its unique location on the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains, Cranesville Swamp is home to habitat uncommon for the mid-Atlantic region. The swamp is different "because of its frost pocket effect," says Deborah Landau, conservation ecologist for the Maryland chapter of TNC. The elevation may be lower in a frost pocket, causing lower temperatures and making that patch of ground particularly susceptible to frost.

In fact, according to TNC literature, "the wetland is a mosaic of bog peatland, wet meadow, shrubland, and forest communities," formed 15,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. When glaciers froze much of North America and northern latitude species were pushed southward, the area that became Cranesville settled in a mountain valley. The surrounding hills catch cold air pockets and precipitation and push them into the valley, making the preserve one of the coolest and wettest spots in Maryland and creating an isolated refuge for species normally found much farther north.

The valley "frost pocket" is responsible for Cranesville's designation as a sub-arctic swamp. In fact, it's "what you would normally find in a boreal forest much farther north in Canada," Landau adds.

On a recent long weekend, I took my backpack and a good friend and pushed into the backcountry, traveling past the paved roads where forlorn-looking automobiles sat, shunned for the weekend by other adventure seekers escaping into nature's embrace.

Driving up from the entrance past a small pleasant-sounding brook and pulling into the preserve's parking area I expect to have the place to ourselves, but instead find fresh tracks from other visitors. Turns out more than 6,000 people come out every year to enjoy the preserve's excellent rare plant and wildlife viewing. This pocket of biodiversity is home to 43 species of animals and plants classified by Maryland as rare or endangered, and five considered rare worldwide, including the southern water shrew, mountain earth snake, and the plant Jacob's ladder.

In her many visits, Landau says she's "seen saw-whet owls, heard flying squirrels, and seen lots of bear tracks. There have also been reports of river otters back in the area along with coyotes."

The Nature Conservancy bought 259 acres of Cranesville in 1960; today that has grown to 1,724 acres. In 1965 the entire swamp was registered as a natural landmark by the National Park Service.

As we headed down one of the preserve's five trails, we were welcomed by bird chatter that followed us as we passed a small side trail made by the resident beaver. Our bird friends weren't the preserve's namesake cranes, but we weren't surprised. It was most likely locally misidentified great blue herons that gave Cranesville its moniker.

Along the trail we found the origins of Muddy Creek, which begins at the preserve and continues along for miles until it spills over Muddy Creek Falls-at 53 feet Maryland's highest free-falling waterfall-which then joins the Youghiogheny. Rain is common here; over the course of a year Cranesville can see more than 60 inches of rain and 2 1/2 times that amount in snow.

Traces of snow can often be found well into the summer months and a couple of inches graced the ground on our visit as we meandered through a portion of the remaining spruce forest. We frequently saw tracks made by some of the preserve's smaller inhabitants-deer, rabbit, fox-but to my companion's relief, none made by one of its more charismatic residents: black bear. The bears are quite common in the area, but they were likely awaiting a better day than this cold snowy one to greet visitors amongst the pines.

Originally called Piney Swamp or Cranesville Pine Swamp, the area was densely wooded before heavy logging severely reduced its forestland. Spruce and hemlock once covered the majority of the preserve's upland areas, slowing runoff into the wetland and helping maintain the valley "frost pocket."

Majestic red spruce once surrounded the swamp and its tributaries but now covers less than one-third of its wetlands, thanks to farming and logging that took place through much of the early 1900s. Red spruce used to be common not just in this area of Maryland, but throughout western Maryland and West Virginia's mountain valleys. Picea rubens is known for its value in bordering wetlands and watersheds and providing rich wildlife habitat.

But without this dense year-round canopy the area is exposed to higher temperatures, contributing to climate change and to the loss of the very factors that make the preserve's rare species thrive.

One of the remaining stands of red spruce through which the trail passes occupies a small area of 3 to 5 acres on the south side of the power line that crosses the swamp. Walking through the pine forest we admired the remaining spruce and the stillness and quiet that enveloped us.

Frigid, snowy weather may not be the best time to birdwatch, at least not that day. Although we didn't see one, among the coolest of the more than 100 species found throughout the year is the saw-whet owl. This small, short-bodied bird lives within the spruce forest and can be identified by its bright yellow-orange eyes, black beak, and lack of ear tufts. Strictly nocturnal, it hunts and preys on small mammals mainly at dawn and dusk. The saw-whet's name comes from the call it makes when alarmed. When threatened, it stretches its body to appear like a bump or a tree branch.

Migratory songbirds such as the Blackburnian warbler and alder flycatcher rely on Cranesville for habitat. Both find winter nesting sights farther south in Central and South America but the birds return to breed at Cranesville in the warmer months.

With its brilliant orange throat, the warbler is easy to spot and can be found nesting in the spruce forest surrounding the boggy swamp. The flycatcher, distinguishable from other flycatchers only by its song, makes its home in the scrubby wet areas of the preserve's bog.

As we made our way along a long boardwalk through the wetlands, we were struck by the lack of surrounding forestland. American Forests' Global ReLeaf grants have planted both red spruce and white pine to reforest old fields and logged areas. Since 2003 American Forests has helped TNC plant 11,010 spruce and white pine with a goal of 18,000 seedlings by fall 2007.

Harvesting seeds locally, the Conservancy rescues red spruce seedlings from along a routinely maintained natural gas right-of-way in close-by Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. Close to 30 volunteers come out on a yearly basis from the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia to make the plantings a reality. These yearly volunteer efforts are establishing a future for the preserve, its habitat, and wildlife.

"Spruce trees help keep temperatures low and retain water," Landau says. "When they were removed at the turn of the century it opened up the area, causing increased temperatures in the swamp." Retaining more water and increasing the understory by reestablishing the natural forestland will benefit the region, she adds, bringing animals back and, through the increased tree cover, preventing run-off.

Out along the boardwalk is the best to spot the carnivorous sundew, a tiny plant akin to the Venus fly trap whose stalks are tipped with a sticky glue. When small insects land on the sundew's sticky stalks the plant's adhesive and digestive enzymes break them down for food.

Another unusual sight along the boardwalk, an additional byproduct of Cranesville preserve's "arctic" status, are stands of tamarack or eastern larch. Normally found much further north into Canada, Larix laricina has short pine needles and small cones-and is one of the very few conifers that sheds its needles every winter.

Cranesville is one of two places where tamarack populations have been found in Maryland and is said to be the southernmost location anywhere for the species. As we headed back from the open boardwalk we vowed to return in a few months to see the bog come alive with spring butterflies, birds, and budding plant life.

Walking back to the snow-covered parking area I knew Cranesville had managed to satisfy my thirst for the outdoors for the time being. However, with spring on its way, I knew it wouldn't be long before the saw-whet, the sundew, and that arctic frost pocket lured me to Cranesville once more. AF

Ethan Kearns directs American Forests' Global ReLeaf and Big Tree programs. [TOP]