Tifft Nature Preserve Management Plan - Buffalo Museum of Science

y blocking views of the surrounding urban landscape and providing cooling shade on
warm summer days.
Therefore, maintaining the woodlands should be a priority because of their
wildlife and recreational values. Unfortunately, there are several threats to the long
term health and persistence of the woodlands. The biggest and most pressing is the
negative impacts of the large deer population on the preserve. As mentioned before,
most of the tree species are fast growing but short-lived and will be reaching the limits
of their lifespan in the coming decades. Without adequate tree regeneration, which is
currently prevented by heavy deer browsing, there will not be a new cohort of trees to
replace the dying older trees (see Management Challenges section for more on deer).
The high numbers of beaver on the preserve and the extensive damage they can cause
to trees is only exacerbating this situation (see Management Challenges section for
more on beaver). With deer eating all the young trees and beaver felling the old trees,
the preserve is on a track to lose its canopy layer of trees in the future without action to
prevent this from occurring. Invasive species are also another major threat to the future
of the preserve’s woodlands since they can reduce the value of wildlife habitat, crowd
out native vegetation, and prevent tree regeneration. However, any attempt at invasive
species control followed by planting native trees and woodland vegetation will be futile
without reducing the size of the deer heard first. These plantings could be securely
fenced from the deer, but this greatly increases the cost and puts constraints on the size
and scale of restoration plantings. The final issue concerning woodland management is
the power line right-of-way that runs the length of the preserve along the central corridor
of woodland habitat. National Grid periodically clears trees, shrubs, and other
vegetation along the power line corridor to prevent damage to the lines and allow
access for service and repairs. This clearing through the woodlands fragments the
habitat and creates a disturbance that can facilitate the establishment and spread of
invasive species. The power company has a legal easement with the city to maintain
their power line so preventing this disturbance is not an option, but rather finding
reasonable guidelines and best management practices is the only way to mitigate
negative impacts (see Management Challenges section for more on power line
management).
The Mounds
The area referred to as the mounds is approximately 42 acres (17 hectares) of
rolling grass-covered hills in the southwest corner of the preserve (Figure 1). The
topography of the area was created when almost 2 million cubic yards (1.6 million cubic
meters) of mixed municipal refuse was transferred to the site from Squaw Island by the
Buffalo Sewer Authority in 1973-1975. Unknown to many visitors, the mounds area is
actually a reclaimed landfill site. The landfill was designed and compliant with the latest
methods and standards of the time. A leachate drain system consisting of a series of
collection pipes on top of an impervious layer of clay was installed under the fill to divert
leachate into the city’s sewer system for treatment. Also, an impervious barrier wall of
sodium bentonite, an absorbent claylike material, was constructed around the fill site.
The leachate collection system and the barrier wall function like a tub preventing
Tifft Nature Preserve Management Plan 13