Chittenango Falls State Park was first visited by the NYOGFA Central NY survey team on Saturday, August 17, 2002.

The forest is quite diverse, and includes: Sugar Maple, Black Maple, Red Maple, Striped Maple, Mountain Maple, Norway Maple, Hemlock, White Cedar, Red Oak, Basswood, Slippery Elm, Shagbark Hickory, Butternut, Hornbeam, Hop Hornbeam, Beech, Yellow Birch. Deep in the gorge there is a patch of Canadian Yew.

All the forest, except for steep c1iffsides, is second-growth. A sawmill at the base of the falls in 1859 apparently took care of all accessible old-growth. The site has been mostly undisturbed since 1887, when a local group acquired it for preservation. The only old-growth is on the steep cliffs; all else was logged in the 19th century.

However, small stunted White Cedars and Hemlocks clinging to nearly vertical cliffs around the falls, and in a few other places have been confirmed to be Old-Growth. These c1iffside trees are a stand of Old-Growth Trees. Some of these Cedars even grow upside down! Several of the c1iffside White Cedars were cut long ago to provide views of the Falls; these stumps provided us with age data.

Tree Data Species Girth Tree Rings Comments Falls gorge, cliffs and nearby areas Hemlock 6.7 feet biggest tree in gorge Basswood 105 rings stump in picnic area above falls Cedar 80 rings stump above falls Cedar 120 rings stump above falls Cedar 85 rings stump above falls Red Oak 125 rings 5.5 inch radius cross-section of branch 40 feet up old shattered tree, on top of far side of falls Cedar 150+ rings 1.5 inch radius stump c1iffside Hemlock 98 rings .7 inch radius branch from c1iffside; estimated 120 rings per inch! Cedar 3.8 inch 157 rings stump; next to this tree, ancient daredevil White Cedar grows upside down out into the air Cedar 1.8 feet 155 rings stump growing on solid rock Cedar 60 rings extremely tight on mostly hollow, tiny stump Red Oak 9.9 feet 60 feet tall; on top in 2nd growth Butternut 10.7 feet massive open-grown in day use lawn White Ash 10.4 feet massive open-grown near just above Basswood 90 rings .6 foot radius stump part of coppice in lawn Second-growth forest in campground area Hemlock 40 rings .6 inch radius log shattered, branch stump 25 feet above base; tree estimated 120 years at most White Ash 75 rings 5 inch radius fresh-cut stump White Cedar 90 rings 3 inch radius stump

Tom Howard
New York Old Growth Forest Association
8/26/2002

New York Old Growth Forest Association — www.championtrees.org/NYOGFA/ — updated: 9/4/2002