Summer 2025

Charting the Future: A New Forest Inventory and Stewardship Plan for Black Rock Forest

Black Rock Forest was established as a forest laboratory in the late 1920s with a goal to support “research in problems of forest management and for the demonstration of successful methods in practice” (The Black Rock Forest Bulletin No.1 1930).
To continue this tradition and to study and care for a forest over time, we first need to understand its current condition. That’s why forest inventories systematic surveys of tree species, structure, and health are so important. These inventories create a baseline, helping us measure the impact of natural changes and stewardship actions like thinning, fencing, or removing invasive plants.
Black Rock Forest completed major forest inventories in the 1930s, 1980s, and early 2000s. But recent stressors such as the loss of hemlock and ash trees and more frequent severe storms—have accelerated change across the landscape.
To respond to these challenges, we partnered with consulting foresters Jordan Heller (Green Jeans Forestry) and Kelly Nywening (Sawtooth Lands & Forestry) to conduct a full forest assessment and develop a five-year stewardship plan. With support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Jordan and Kelly surveyed hundreds of plots across the forest this winter and spring trekking through snow, ice, and mud to document tree cover, invasive species, and stand conditions. The data were used to create a map of different forest types and evaluate forest conditions. Overall, the forest is stable with limited signs of disturbance, but there is less tree regeneration than ideal and invasive plant species are spreading.
With this new information in hand, our team worked together to identify the most urgent areas for restoration and management action. Priorities include restoring pitch pine on hilltops, improving softwood stands near the historic Stone House, and removing invasive species along Pecks Road.
The NRCS has approved our plan, making Black Rock Forest eligible for funding to support on-the-ground improvements like planting, thinning, and invasive species control. We’re excited to take these next steps toward a healthier, more resilient forest.

Hot Topics, Cool Science: 2025 Hudson Highlands Research Symposium

Black Rock Forest hosts the Hudson Highlands Research Symposium biennially to showcase current research inside or nearby the Forest. The Symposium brings researchers to the Forest for a day of networking, collaborating, and disseminating information to better understand and protect the Hudson Highlands. Attendees include undergraduate and graduate students, land managers, retirees, and faculty from a diversity of institutions, including universities, non-profits, and State agencies.
On June 23, we hosted our fourteenth Symposium. The 100°F outdoor temperature didn’t slow the enthusiasm and joy that our presenters delivered their findings with; and I’m sure our recently repaired geothermal air conditioning helped. We had a full day of podium and poster presentations on an incredibly wide range of topics, from tree genes to white-tailed deer populations, from soil biogeochemistry to bat foraging patterns, and from deglaciation patterns 14,000 years ago to state-of-the-art tools for future field sampling. I was impressed by the amount of ecology research West Point’s Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering faculty are able to achieve and by how much progress Drs. Makowski and Wall have made as postdoctoral fellows here at Black Rock Forest, but I might be biased.
The Symposium also gave Black Rock Forest staff an opportunity to share updates on our efforts to facilitate the research activities for our guests and ourselves, including updates on forest monitoring plans, newly published data sets, and repairs to research infrastructure.
I am greatly appreciative of the work our staff did for the event and of course for all of the researchers who continue to further our understanding of the natural world, despite these challenging and unpredictable times. Please visit our website to read our Symposium Report which includes the list of presentations and their abstracts. We will see you all in 2027!
—Dr. Scott LaPoint,
Director of Research at Black Rock Forest

Research Abuzz–UConn graduate student leads bee research at Black Rock Forest

Have you seen a white plastic pipe tied horizontally to a tree or fence in Black Rock Forest? If so, you’ve seen one of Matthew Donahue’s solitary bee trap nests. Matthew, a PhD student at the University of Connecticut and a David Redden Conservation Science Fund Small Grant awardee, uses these traps and several other methods to collect bees around the Forest.
Matthew is investigating how urban development impacts solitary bee populations and whether below-ground or above-ground nesting bees are impacted differently. Black Rock Forest is one of Matthew’s many study sites, which include paired urban and rural sites in New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Although previous studies have shown how some bee species are affected by cities, whether cities affect the evolution of bees is largely unstudied. Even fewer studies compare urban to non-urban areas, further limiting our inferences for conservation efforts. Matthew’s research is the first to compare urban and non-urban solitary bee populations and genetic diversity across multiple cities. His work should reveal generalizable patterns to better inform urban bee conservation efforts.
We look forward to learning more from Matthew’s research in Black Rock Forest and beyond. And remember, if you see his bee traps in the Forest, please leave them be.

Wading into Discovery: Newburgh Free Academy Students Assess Biodiversity & Water Quality in the Field

On May 21, we had the opportunity to bring our College Biology students from Newburgh Free Academy’s Main Campus to Black Rock Forest for a lab investigation. These students are part of the Syracuse University Project Advance dual enrollment program that gives students the opportunity to earn eight college credits while taking the course in high school.
We led students to two stream sites at the Upper Reservoir inlet and outlet where they donned chest waders and used kick nets to collect macroinvertebrates like mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies. These organisms act as bioindicators, helping us understand the health of freshwater systems. After collecting, sorting, and identifying specimens, we returned to the Science Center, where students prepared their data for later analysis in the classroom.
Throughout the year, our students learn in-depth biology content and begin their journey into incorporating mathematics, such as probability, statistics, and algorithms, to analyze data. They use various formulas throughout the year to prepare for upper-level biology courses during their undergraduate education. In this investigation, they used real-world data to calculate Simpson’s Diversity Index, a measure of biodiversity, and the EPT Index, which assesses water quality based on the presence of sensitive macroinvertebrate species.
This trip was more than just a lab—it was a meaningful way for students to connect with the natural world, apply scientific methods in the field, and see how classroom content comes to life. It helped them make connections within the ecology unit, such as using scientific inquiry to evaluate biodiversity and using bioindicators to assess environmental health.

—Jessica Benson and Matthew Mayer,
NFA Main Campus HS Teachers

Forest News in Brief