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BOTANICAL EVALUATION OF THE GOAT ISLAND COMPLEX, NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK |
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G. ROCKY BANKS AND BOULDER HABITATS Porter quoted Hennepin as observing Goat Island in 1678 to be "full of cedar and firr" (16 Ann Rep Comm, 1900) - an observation seconded by Francois Andre Michaux, who emphasized the growth of Arbor Vitae, or White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) on the island's borders (Michaux, 1819). A series of prints made of the prospect from the Canadian shore facing Goat Island said to be based on descriptions made by Hennepin show a conifer element restricted to all the margins of the Niagara River (reprinted in 16 Ann Rep Comm, 1900). Information on at least the idea of the herbaceous component of the shoreline is only suggested from the plan of Olmsted and Vaux (1887), where they recommend that shoreline ballast on the mainland serve as revetments "for banks of soil in which the dwarf willows, rushes, ferns, irises, flags and other water side plants of the region would be planted ... with a result in view that would differ but little in character from that of the natural, low, rocky shores of the neighboring islands." The First of the Three Sisters, and portions of the other two today may demonstrate somewhat the nature of the primeval rocky river-banks of Goat Island, and the boulder-top flora. "Beautiful plants grow among the boulders, the rocks on the banks of the river, such as the gueldar rose, the white cedar, the Rubus odoratus, now flowering in all its loveliness, the lime [Tilia americana], maple, and sumac [Rhus typhina]" (Wied-Neuwied, 1834). It was on the top of a "large rock" on the north slope of Goat Island near Luna Island that George Clinton found the moss Anomodon viticulosus, and around where Leo Lesquereux had found it previously (see section in Clinton's journal for October 21, 1865). The absence of Lyre-leaved Rock Cress (Arabis lyrata) on Goat Island, so beautifully displayed on the First Sister, may be due to loss of boulder habitats on Goat Island. Boulder-top communities, to judge from those developed on the Three Sisters, typically support extensive bryophyte (moss and liverwort) communities, lichens, Bristle-leaved Sedge (Carex eburnea), ferns, such as the Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes) and Common Polypody (Polypodium virginianum), the last of which is now absent from the Goat Island complex. The Sharp or Blunt-leaved Hepatica, reported by Day (1888) and both now extirpated from Goat Island, thrives on soil-covered boulder tops, as can be seen today at Niagara Glen (Niagara River Gorge, Ontario). A vivid orange color on boulders of the Three Sisters near the water's edge, best seen in the winter months, is due to an alga: a species of Trentepolia. Loss of boulder-top habitats seems to have been due to two major factors: removing them for use as a landscape decoration, and using the native rock, in situ, as a bench, or for climbing on top of. In 1895, "rustic stones for restoring the shore to a natural appearance were brought from Goat Island" for improvement of the shore of the river between Prospect Park and Mill slip (12 Ann Rep Comm, 1896). River-channel rocks, without any vegetation, may be seen today, placed at the lawn corners on Luna Island. The most severe example of loss of boulder-surface habitat may be seen on the Third Sister Island during the tourist season when busloads of travelers disembark here for a twenty minute or so chance to stretch their legs and take pictures before proceding with their tour. Boulder tops there are polished surfaces, and the vegetation on the margins is cluttered with lawn weeds. |