Brookfield Auto Tour

Charles E. Baker State Forest

Welcome to the Charles E. Baker State Forest, also known as Madison Reforestation Areas numbers 1 and 4. This continuous unit of state land encompasses 9,414 acres, and is one of the largest solid blocks of public lands outside of the Catskill or Adirondack Forest Preserves. The area was acquired during the early 1930's through the 1929 State Reforestation Law and the 1931 Hewitt Amendment, which provided legislation authorizing the Conservation Department to purchase land for reforestation purposes. This particular tract is named after one of the five original District Foresters, Charles E. Baker, who supervised the land acquisition and planting of millions of trees in this district. This reforestation area has continuously been managed for timber, wildlife, recreation and multiple use.

The purpose of this auto tour is to give the viewers a better understanding of the natural resources and different management activities found throughout this State Reforestation Area. These state lands are administered by the Lands and Forests and Operations staff of the Department of Environmental Conservation out of Sherburne, New York.

Your tour will take you through a series of truck trails over a 12 mile section of the state lands if you are starting from the Moscow Hill Assembly Area. Follow the map and look for the signs located at each of the stops. It is recommended that you proceed carefully through the truck trails and be alert for many of the other users you may encounter on the trip, including horseback riders, mountain bikers, hikers, commercial log trucks and wildlife.

The majority of the roads on this tour are seasonal truck trails developed and maintained by DEC These roads are narrow and generally not plowed during winter months. Please note there are no services on these roads outside of restrooms at the assembly and camping areas on Moscow Hill Road.

The area surrounding you is the main staging area for horse or snowmobile riders using the Brookfield Trail System. This highly acclaimed trail system offers nearly 130 miles of trail riding experience throughout the Brookfield State Forests. The Assembly Area was developed starting in the late 1970's to accommodate day and overnight use for both riders and horses. Currently there are 46 covered tie stalls, 2 covered stallion pens, a mounting platform with access for people with disabilities, restrooms, pavilion, hand pump and camping sites designed to accept larger vehicles and trailers.

Directly east of the assembly area is the Moscow Hill Camping Area which is on the original grounds of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-131 started in 1935. The enlisted men of this camp were in part responsible for the original development of the state lands in Brookfield including the building of the truck trails, digging of water holes, planting of trees and the original thinning done in the hardwood forests. The works of the Civilian Conservation Corps were very instrumental in the development of public lands throughout the Untied States and especially here in Brookfield.

Today this site offers 21 camp sites designed for horse camping with similar accommodations as found at the assembly area but with a more private setting. Access to both the Assembly and Camping areas is available year round, but most use occurs during the popular horse trail riding seasons of May 1 to October 31.

To Stop #2:

Proceed right out of the Assembly Area 0.3 miles to Quaker Hill Road. Turn right and proceed 1 mile up to the intersection of Truck Trail #12. Bear right and look for Stop #2 on your right. This is the old Quaker Hill Cemetery.

In the early 1800's this area of Brookfield was settled by Quaker families. It was originally named Moscow and later Delancy after original settlers. The Quakers had a large and active membership known as the "Society of Friends". This Society was affiliated with a similar group that had settled in Madison, another Quaker settlement north and west of here. Their meeting house once stood next to the entrance to Truck Trail #12 - just south of the cemetery.

This cemetery is the final resting place for some of these original settlers and dates back to the early 1800's. This is private land and is being pointed out as a historical reference to the early development of this area. Please be respectful of private property when visiting this stop.

To Stop #3:

Proceed south bearing right from the cemetery along Truck Trail #12 for several hundred feet. You will meet up to Truck Trail #13 on your right. Turn on to Truck Trail #13 and proceed 0.7 of a mile until you reach Stop #3.

On each side of the road you will notice an off-road trail. Trail #45 on the north side is a connector trail that takes you to Trail #30 also known as the Carriage Trail. The Carriage Trail is the main trail leading out of the Assembly Area. Trail #2 is the trail heading south leading into the heart of the Brookfield Trail System.

You will notice a gravel base on each trail in many sections. This gravel base is over a filter fabric underlay which is designed to stabilize wet ground conditions. The growing trend of increased trail use has created a need for more rehabilitation work to secure many trail sections from erosion or chronic wet conditions.

The trail system for Brookfield was started in 1966 with the design and layout done by Operations, Rangers, Correction crews and Forestry Staff from the Sherburne office. Construction began in 1967 originally laying out 99 miles of both on and off-road trails. Today the system covers approximately 130 miles between all five state forests within the area. Of this mileage, 59 miles are off-road trails winding through the various forests and terrain types.

To Stop #4:

Over the years, Brookfield has been the home for two very popular equestrian events sponsored by the New York State Horse Council. To Stop #4: continue west on Truck Trail #13 for 2 miles. Look for Stop #4 on your right side.

You will see a red pine plantation on each side of the road. Both stands of red pine were planted in 1934 on old pasture land or agricultural fields. These red pine trees were left to grow undisturbed until the 1960's. During this time, a timber stand improvement cut was done by ax girdling or poisoning undesirable or weaker trees giving favor to the healthiest and largest red pine.

Both stands received their first commercial harvest in the late 1970's, again leaving the majority of bigger, healthier red pine to grow. Red pine pulpwood or small logs were the products removed. The stand on the west side received a second commercial thinning in 1997, with a more mechanized approach to accommodate larger equipment. Here rows or lanes of pine were harvested cutting about a third of the growing stock. Utility poles and saw log stock were removed at that time.

The stand across the road on the east side has received similar treatment by a different contractor, which began in 1999. Here log cabin stock, along with saw log material, was removed. The long term goal for these two stands will be to eventually convert them to a hardwood forest. With each thinning, hardwood seedlings are established in the new growing spaces. Red pine does not germinate in very well under these conditions. This conversion process will likely take one or two more harvests, covering a 20 to 40 year time span, unless natural disturbances such as wind or ice storms accelerate this process.

You will see similar treatments to these in most of the other red pine stands planted in the area. If you look closely you will most likely see evidence of past cuttings in other plantations.

To Stop #5:

Continue south on truck trail to Brown Road. Turn left and then turn right on to Truck Trail #6. Proceed south until the first bend in the road. Stop #5 is on the right, one tenth of a mile.

The area directly behind the sign is a young hardwood forest that is in the process of developing 20+ years after a red pine conversion cut. In 1977 all the mature red pine trees which were planted on this site were harvested leaving behind a few larger remnant hardwood trees and a multitude of small hardwood seedlings. Once all the overstory trees were removed, full sunlight flooded the forest floor for the first time in many years triggering a "jump start" of plant and tree growth. With all the new growing space available, many tree species develop at a rapid pace growing sometimes two to three feet per year.

This young forest will go through many changes over time in its development into a mature northern hardwood forest. Within this forest type you can find many examples of the common tree types associated with northern hardwoods, including sugar maple, red maple, American beech, black cherry, white ash and aspen. You will also notice a few red pine trees that have seeded in from the original plantation, adding to the diversity of this new forest. The process of change in plant communities where one group of associated species is replaced by a different group over time is termed "succession". In a forest community, this process occurs over decades and is not always readily apparent.

Forest succession will occur whether or not man is involved. Through various forest management techniques this process of succession can be altered, slowed down, accelerated or even reversed for a length of time to provide a different benefit to the users of the forest, be they people or wildlife.

To Stop #6:

Continue on Truck Trail #6 until the intersection with truck trail #4. Turn right and then turn left at Truck Trail #2 a short distance along. Continue south, downhill on Truck Trail #2 until you see Stop #6 on your left at the first stream crossing.

In front of you is a laid up stone water hole developed by Civilian Conservation Corps workers during the 1930's as a storage place for easily accessible water in the event of a forest fire. These water holes were dug throughout the state reforestation areas and maintained over the years for fire readiness.

The majority of these water holes will be found near the planted conifer stands of pine or spruce, which were thought to be more of a fire hazard during dry conditions due to the accumulation of dead needles and small branches in the understory. To date, no large forest fires have been recorded in these state lands. Immediately to the right of the water hole is a small stream flowing from the forest on its way to the Chenango River.

Several trout streams in the area have their headwaters starting in the Brookfield state land. This stream eventually turns into Handsome Brook, a fine stream noted for both brown trout and native brook trout. Productive trout streams can only thrive with clean, cool waters which usually flow from forested hillsides. These forests protect and regulate waterflow into these streams to some degree by the network of roots and organic matter on the forest floor which encourages absorption as opposed to runoff. The soils of the forest absorb rain waters and release it into these small streams at a steadier pace than an urban environment of pavement and cement would. The forests also filter the water as it seeps and percolates into the streams, helping to keep them clean.

To Stop #7:

Continue up the truck trail for another 0.7 of a mile. Do not turn on Truck Trail #5. Stop #7 will be on your right at the bottom of a hill where the truck trail starts turning left and heading up hill again.

The open area covering 2 acres behind the sign is one of several aspen regeneration cuts done in 1993 with a grant from the Ruffed Grouse Society. These aspen "clear cuts" are targeted to stimulate heavy "coppice" and root sprouting growth on the stumps and root systems of mature aspen trees through cutting during the dormant season. By cutting down groves of larger aspen trees during the late fall or winter, the stumps and root systems that remain will send up a flush of new growth the next growing season. There can be dozens of new trees starting from one single cut stem. The heavy sapling growth you see now is a habitat cover preferred by ruffed grouse broods when the birds are young. This heavy sapling cover provides a good escape cover for the young birds as they feed on the abundance of insects in the spring and summer months. The areas targeted for these cuts had all the trees within a designated zone cut and left on site.

No utilization of these cut trees was allowed. The larger logs left rotted in place, providing drumming sites for the male grouse in the spring courtship season and at the same time providing the right conditions for a variety of insects living in or near the decaying wood. Over time, forest succession will evolve this site into a mature mix of aspen and hardwood trees and will provide a different habitat for other wildlife species. The habitat benefits from these cuts are expected to be around for 20 years before succession changes the faces of the forest. At that time, another aspen regeneration cut may be planned, thanks to the renewable nature of our forests.

To Stop #8:

Continue up Truck Trail #2 to the junction of Truck Trail #1. Turn left and watch for Stop #8 on your left. It will be approximately 0.3 of a mile from the turn on Truck Trail #1.

One of the historical land marks associated with these hills is "Lost Pond". Not visible from the road, but several hundred yards to the west, through the tangle of brush and trees, is a small open area of water known as Lost Pond. This area is actually in the later stages of wetland succession occurring around a body of water similar to that of a fresh water bog. The entire area surrounding the open water of the pond is a wetland.

This wetland is a floating mat of vegetation made up of moss, acid loving plants and shrubs including blueberry that have interspersed their root systems overtime and are slowly engulfing the edges of the open water. As organic matter accumulates on this mat, conditions allow for some trees to become established, although these conditions are far from ideal for tree development and survival. As the trees develop and expand their root systems, the high water table and lack of mineral soil quickly chokes them out. This creates many dead snags over time. Snags provide a unique habitat which attracts a variety of wildlife, especially birds.

To obtain a better view of the Lost Pond area, you could turn left on to Truck Trail #5 and proceed 0.4 of a mile west on the truck trail. Look for a small driveway on your left with a path that leads down to the day-use area. Here you will find a picnic table and a better view of the wetland.

To Stop #9:

Continue north on Truck Trail #1 for 0.6 of a mile and turn right on to Truck Trail #14. This truck trail is a short cul-de-sac with Stop #9 at the end, approximately 0.3 of a mile further.

Behind this sign is the site of the old Brookfield Fire Tower that stood here from 1948 until 1983. Originally, the fire tower stood on the hilltop east of Chenango Lake for 12 years, before being moved to Brookfield.

Originally used for wildfire observation, this fire tower became a popular tourist destination for visitors using the area, complete with picnic tables, grills, drilled well and restroom facilities. At the peek of its popularity the fire tower received over 4,000 visitors annually. Along with the fire tower stood a cabin used by the seasonal DEC fire tower observers. The cabin was removed in 1977.

With the change-over to aerial flights for wildfire detection and liability concerns over the public use of the fire tower, the tower was auctioned off and dismantled in the mid 1980's. Today this area still provides facilities for day use during the trail riding season, but increased vandalism from late night activity has made maintenance and facility improvements difficult.

Surrounding most of the old tower site is a plantation of Norway spruce trees planted in 1930. This was one of the first plantings done by the Conservation Department on the state reforestation lands in the area, even before the start of the Civilian Conservation Corps Program. The Norway spruce seed source originally came from Europe and the Scandinavian countries but has proven well adapted to the climate of Central New York. These spruce trees grow well in a variety of soil types and develop a dense canopy which allows little sunlight to reach the forest floor until a thinning or disturbance.

The wood of Norway spruce has an ideal clean, white fiber that is ground up and used for paper products of all types. Many of the commercial forest thinnings done in the spruce plantations on the state lands provide this wood product and are commonly referred to as pulpwood sales. This particular stand has had several thinnings over the years to promote better growth on the larger trees while removing some volume for pulpwood. The long range objective for this spruce plantation is to periodically harvest the spruce at 15 year intervals until a natural forest develops in its place. This process will take decades to fulfill barring any natural disturbance. The long range goal is to have the area surrounding Lost and Woodland Ponds including this plantation to be part of a biological reserve covering 650 acres in the core of this state land. Eventually old growth conditions will prevail with minimal disturbance from man offering the opportunity for the preservation of the areas biological diversity.

To Stop #10:

Proceed back out to Truck Trail #1, turn right and head north down hill to Brown Road where you turn right and then turn left on to Truck Trail #12. Proceed north on Truck Trail #12 for 0.4 of a mile to reach the last stop which is on your left. Total distance from Stop #9 to Stop #10 is 1.7 miles.

The woodlot directly behind and west of the sign is a 17 acre stand of northern hardwoods typical of Central New York. This stand of hardwoods is of an uneven age character with most of the trees spanning a wide range of age classes. This stand has developed over time from disturbances both natural and man-made which allow for trees of many different age classes to become established.

Tree species such as black cherry and white ash get a jump start on other species in the full sun of the early years in forest development. These trees can reach a large diameter and height compared to other slower growing and more shade tolerant species such as sugar maple or American beech. This particular stand has a high percentage of sugar or "hard" maple trees with a mix of black cherry, red maple, white ash and American beech also present. Many of the northern hardwood tree species are unique to the Eastern United States, and their quality and beauty in wood products demand a high value in today's world wide economy.

Forest management in these hardwood stands usually focuses on removing diseased and stunted trees through firewood thinning, leaving the healthier, more vigorous trees to grow. As the stand matures, commercial sawtimber cuts are planned which remove a larger volume of wood, creating openings for young seedlings to develop. This sets the stage for the next generation of trees. This stand was last treated by a firewood thinning in 1982.

This is the last stop on the tour. We hope these few stops along the State lands have given you a better understanding of the dynamic world of forestry, and the multiple-use approach to natural resource management.

To return to the starting point, proceed North on Truck Trail #12, and you will meet Quaker Hill Road again. Turn left on Quaker Hill Road and proceed down to Moscow Road. A left hand turn at Moscow Road will bring you back to the Assembly Area, where the "Auto Tour" began.

Important State Forest Use Information

Our forests and mountains offer opportunities for recreational pleasure, appreciation of nature and a rejuvenating escape from the urban world. Help care for our wildlands and enhance their enjoyment for yourself and those that follow. What you carry in, carry out. Leave the woods cleaner than you found them. If you must build a fire, do so with care. Be considerate of others. Always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return. Remember, the forest belongs to everyone. Enjoy it, but be considerate of others. Leave it as you found it and take home only memories.

State Forest Regulations

Anyone enjoying the use of this State Forest must observe the following rules which protect them and the forest environment:

Do not litter. Carry out what you carry in. Burying of refuse is prohibited.
If you build a fire, do so with care and use wood from dead and downed trees only. Never leave a fire unattended.
All motorized vehicles are restricted to access roads posted as motor vehicle trails. Off road use of motorized vehicles, such as ATVs, trail bikes and four-wheel drives is not allowed, except where specifically permitted by signs, posted notice or by DEC permit.
Camping for more than three nights or in a group of ten or more requires a permit from a Forest Ranger. Camping is prohibited within 150 feet of water, roads or trail.
No permanent structures should be established, including tree stands or blinds.

Important Notice

Horse owners may be required to produce a current Coggins certificate in accordance with Agriculture and Markets Rules and Regulations, Part 64.

Important Numbers

Emergencies/Law Enforcement: Weekends, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, call (607) 674-4036. Evenings, weekends and holidays, call (607) 674-9766 or 674-9555.

More about Brookfield Auto Tour:

Brookfield Auto Tour Map - A map of Brookfield's auto tour