Randy Allen Hendrickson Preserve
The Randy Allen Hendrickson Watershed Preserve offers 16 acres of trail-free wilderness for hiking, exploring and geocaching. The property is biodiverse, making it a rewarding spot for birdwatchers, wildlife spotters and botanists.
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Size: 18 acres
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Year Conserved by CWC: 2008
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Conservation Values: The Randy Allen Hendrickson Watershed Preserve protects 1,200 feet of naturally vegetated streambanks along Chautauqua Lake tributaries. The trees along the stream absorb and filter water and offer natural bank stabilization.
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Recreational Use: There are currently no developed trails or any other facilities within the preserve, and it is used primarily by botanists, birdwatchers and geocachers. Fishing is permitted at this preserve, but off-road vehicle use is prohibited.
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Location and Parking: Located southeast of Chautauqua Lake in the town of Ellicott, the Randy Allen Hendrickson Watershed Preserve can be accessed off Elmwood Avenue in West Ellicott, south of Route 394.
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Features of Interest: Tributaries to Chautauqua Lake flow through this forested preserve.
SPECIES OF INTEREST:
Trees: quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), black cherry (Prunus serotine), white ash (Fraxinus americana), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), butternut (Juglans cinerea), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), apple (Malus spp.)
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Understory: skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), false hellebore (Veratrum viride), switch grass (Panicum virgatum), white rattlesnake-root (Prenanthes alba), gray-stemmed dogwood (Cornus recemosa), common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
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Wildflowers: lily of the valley (Convallaria mejalis), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), common violet (Viola sororia), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), yellow avens (Geum aleppicum), true forget-me-not (Myosotis scorploides), marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris)
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Birds: tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), great crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula), red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
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Amphibians: spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), American toad (Bufo americanus)