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From the October 2003 Conservationist

Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve

By Patricia L. Nelson

Hop in your car and drive fifteen minutes from downtown Buffalo and you can find yourself at "the Woods," as locals say. What woods you ask? Nature, you're wondering, in a suburban landscape? It doesn't seem possible for much "nature" to be left amidst shopping plazas, pizzerias, quick-markets and all the other trappings of our society. Well, it's true! According to the latest census records, more than a million people live within 30 miles of DEC's 292-acre Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods Preserve, a place where nature thrives.

Originally established by the late Dr. Victor Reinstein, Reinstein Woods is contained within four major thoroughfares in Cheektowaga, a town which is home to a major shopping mall, an international airport, and numerous businesses. Residences, a fireman's park, the Julia B. Reinstein Library and the Town of Cheektowaga's Stiglmeier Park abut Reinstein Woods, bringing the human dimension very close to the natural. The proximity of Stiglmeier Park, approximately 300 acres in size itself, creates a "green corridor" with nearby Slate Bottom Creek, allowing wildlife movement to and from the preserve.

Multitudes of Flora and Fauna

What can 292 acres hold in such a highly developed, populated area? Well, in the case of Reinstein Woods, almost every mammal native to New York State! The preserve is home to flying squirrels, red fox, coyotes, white-tailed deer and more. More than 100 species of birds are seen each year at Reinstein, and it's common to see or hear chickadees, catbirds, great blue herons, wood thrushes and downy woodpeckers. Snapping turtles, painted turtles and garter snakes are some of the preserve's cold-blooded residents. Reinstein is also home to more than 60 acres of fabulous beech-maple forest filled with towering black cherry trees. Some forestry experts believe these may be among the oldest trees in the state. Closer to the ground, you'll find witch-hazel, thistles, cattails, and milkweed. Spring and summer wildflowers create beauty as well as habitat for yellow swallowtail and monarch butterflies, a variety of skippers and moths, and a plethora of other insect life.

History

As if nature were not enough, Reinstein Woods is steeped in history. The southern third of the current preserve was granted to the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy following the Revolutionary War, and became part of Buffalo Creek Reservation. The late Mrs. Julia B. Reinstein, longtime Cheektowaga Town Historian, speculated that the Senecas used the land as hunting grounds. Archeologic studies done in late 1980s did not find any evidence that Senecas had lived on the site.

The northern two-thirds of what is now Reinstein Woods was bought by Holland Land Company, which was responsible for surveying most of western New York in the late 1700s to early 1800s. Famous for being the first to use transit lines to establish townships and property boundaries, Holland Land Company surveyors ran a transit line east to west through the property. From this transit line, they mapped and described the physical features of the land, thus enabling parcels to be established for sale. The transit line also served as the northern boundary of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Visitors to the Reinstein Preserve may be surprised to find two original stone markers placed by Holland Land Company surveyors still exist on the property today. These jagged pieces of Hudson River Valley rock, carried across the country by the Holland Land Company surveyors, serve as a reminder of a bygone era.

Eventually, the Holland Land Company holdings were divided and sold to early settlers in long, narrow parcels. These parcels were bisected by Cayuga Creek, and without good bridges to reach the eastern half of their parcels, early farmers left the Reinstein portion of their properties largely untouched. No timbering has occurred on that portion of the Preserve since 1880, when most of the land was purchased by the Bellevue Land and Improvement Company, one of many business ventures of George Urban, Jr., a leader in western New York's business life in the early 1900s. The company did not develop the land, except to construct a short railroad line in 1882. The Buffalo, Bellevue & Lancaster Railroad Company line ran to the center of what is now the Reinstein preserve until the late 1880s, when that stretch of track was abandoned.

Reinstein Family

In the early 1900s, Dr. Victor Reinstein's mother immigrated to America from Russia. Anna Reinstein worked on many humanitarian and social reform efforts. She was western New York's first woman obstetrician/gynecologist and has been honored for her work with impoverished people.

Victor, reportedly inspired by family visits to the Adirondacks during his youth, developed an intense love of nature and the outdoors. He became a physician and attorney and worked in real estate development. When the Bellevue Land and Improvement Co. hired him to sell their holdings in the Cheektowaga area, Dr. Reinstein purchased large tracts of land, much of which he later sold to developers. His enjoyment of nature led him to retain some of his holdings as a private preserve for his family. This parcel, now known as Reinstein Woods, became his passion. Hard-working Philanthropist Following the death of his first wife in the 1930s, Dr. Reinstein designed and built eight miles of gravel roads, being careful not to destroy the beauty of the land, and planted thousands of conifer seedlings to quickly reforest former agricultural land. Never one to sit idly, Reinstein reportedly operated heavy equipment himself, altering two small, unnamed tributaries of Slate Bottom Creek, which originally ran through the preserve, to form the current complex of 19 ponds and wetlands. During World War II, Reinstein's activities at the preserve may have been slowed a bit, as he allowed the US Army Military Police Corps based in Buffalo to use Reinstein Woods as a practice area.

Dr. Reinstein also became a philanthropist, donating property to the Town of Cheektowaga for Stiglmeier Park and two libraries. Prior to his passing in 1984, Dr. Reinstein actively sought a deal to ensure the preservation and sharing of Reinstein Woods' natural resources. In 1986, the bulk of the Reinstein Woods property was deeded to DEC by Reinstein's estate as a nature preserve and environmental educational facility. Since that time, DEC has purchased several small parcels to serve as "buffer zones" from surrounding housing developments. Using Dr. Reinstein's system of roads as trails, DEC opened the preserve to the public in 1986.

Now and the In the Future

Today, preserve visitors can walk the trails through a variety of habitats. Ponds, wet meadows and vernal pools offer places to learn about the birds and animals which frequent them and the aquatic organisms that live within them. Bright pink pond lilies, a cultivar brought to the preserve by the Reinsteins, blanket Lily Pond each summer and amaze visitors with their beauty and color. Beaver make their presence known at Lily Pond by cutting narrow pathways through the lily pads, leading to and from two active lodges. At another nearby wetland, cattails buzzing with red-winged blackbirds demonstrate how, over time, succession takes place and a pond becomes a marsh. Further along the trail, deer-or evidence of their presence-can be seen in the beech-maple forest. Lucky visitors may be treated to a look at a scarlet tanager or pileated woodpecker.

Currently, thousands of children, teachers and parents use Reinstein Woods as an outdoor classroom to supplement their school curricula each year. DEC environmental education staff and trained volunteers teach pond and forest lessons. Children learn to identify trees, leaves, plants and animal tracks. They collect data about water chemistry and temperature, and talk about "big" topics like pollution and global warming. They examine pond life through magnifying glasses and scan treetops with binoculars to glimpse an elusive red-tailed hawk. They take their experiences back to the classroom where they write stories, draw, and tie their field trip to their classroom lessons. They are introduced to an opportunity to think about nature, their environment and green spaces in ways they may not have before. Parents and children attend pre-K "reading in the woods" sessions or test their senses of night vision and adventure on a night walk or owl prowl. Hardy individuals bundle up and strap on snowshoes or cross-country skis to get a view of winter in "the Woods."

Reinstein Woods blooms with future promise. DEC is constantly upgrading and improving educational facilities and programs. A pavilion, used as an outdoor classroom, was built in 2002. Restroom facilities are under construction, and plans for a "green" or "environmentally conscious" education center are on the drawing table.

For many people, Reinstein is almost a magical place-a place of "firsts"-seeing a first deer, feeling soft mullein leaves, seeing a Canada goose on its nest up close. And sometimes, it is that "first" experience which makes the difference in a lifetime. As an educational center, Reinstein Woods is truly in its infancy. Who knows? Maybe someday, we'll read a Conservationist article that begins "It all started on a field trip to Reinstein Woods when I was in the sixth grade..."

If You Go:

It's best to call to find out what is going on before visiting as open hours and programs may vary according to the season. To set up a group tour or for more information about Reinstein Woods, call (716) 851-7201 (weekdays) or (716) 683-5959 (evenings/weekends).

Directions to Reinstein Woods:

From the Thruway (I-90), take exit 52A. Go east on William St. to Union Road. Turn left on Union Rd. (Rt. 277) and proceed to Como Park Boulevard. Turn right on Como Park Boulevard. Turn south onto Honorine Drive and travel 100 yards. The entrance gate to Reinstein Woods is on the left at 93 Honorine Drive.

Photo: Alan Mapes, DEC, Tom Lawson