Three Falls Forest Sanctuary Giant Millipede on a moss-covered deadfall Manlius, New York PHOTO Lindsay Speer 7/26/05

Three Falls Forest
Forest Cathedral
Sinkhole Sanctuary
Sweet Road & NY 173
Manlius, New York

Latitude: 43 00 00 N Longitude: 76 00 30 W Elevation: 620 - 780 feet USGS Topographic Quad: Manlius NYSGIS tile: Manlius_SW1

Mixed Hardwood & Hemlock

First Scouting: July 26, 2005 Second Scouting: July 28, 2005

First Scouting Visit July 26, 2005 Team Leader: David Yarrow Others: Benita Rogers, Lindsay Speer

Towering Snag sylvan condominium for birds Three Falls Forest, Manlius, NY PHOTO DYarrow 7/28/05

On its lower edge, the woodlands are severely

see also: Three Falls Spring Floods Forest Cathedral Escarpment Bluestones Mystery Spot Lime Kilns Slide Show

disturbed. Stone walls, century-old trash heaps of shattered glass, primitive limestone kilns, broken bedrock, and very young trees testify to destruction by the first waves of settlement. Two hundred years ago, this land was an elaborate architecture of water-polished limestone draped with moss, adorned with ferns. Today, bedrock outcrops on the entry path are fractured stumps surrounded by chaotic piles of mining debris. Much of the lower trail is overrun by Oriental bittersweet and garlic mustard—obnoxious alien species invading many woodlands.

A few trees of low value species (Hophornbeam, White Cedar, Black Cherry) are small in size, but have bark characteristic of very old trees—trees older than a century. One hophornbeam, with knobby trunk and finely stripped bark, sprouted three extra stems in a

FOR MORE INFORMATION on Three Falls Forest as a community ecological resource Manlius Greenspace Coalition P.O. Box 131, Manlius, NY 13104 www.ManliusGreenspace.org Manliusgreenspace@earthlink.net

bizarre three-sided cup (photo above). These stunted, yet elder trees suggest areas of forest were cut once in early settlement, then left to regenerate. Although virtually all trees were cut in the early era of limestone mining and burning, apparently a diversity of specimen trees survived, and are respresented in younger communities. Yet, I soon realized these scattered elder trees are only sentinels—outposts for The Elders Grove in The Forest Cathedral Sanctuary.

Into the Sinkhole reverent shade from elder trees Three Falls Forest, Manlius, NY PHOTO DYarrow 7/28/05

As we walked deeper into the woods, trees grew larger and denser, and bittersweet faded to normal forest litter. Along the trail, I saw modest appearances of wild ginger, bloodroot, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily, cohosh, plus many dainty gatherings of ferns. No large, lush patches of these woodland herbs, but numerous scattered specimens. But boulders had only thin beards of moss, suggesting a recent disturbance. A three-foot-high stone wall on our left was surmounted by a wire fence.

Eventually, the trail led gently upward into deeper shade of larger, older hemlocks, many surpassing two feet in diameter. Their crowns reach one hundred feet high, and around them grow ferns and thick moss on knobby boulders and bedrock.

Beyond these giants, rocky land slopes steeply down into a sheltered sinkhole. As we started down, I took photos of a giant hemlock with an S-shaped trunk, clearly two feet in diameter. My digital camera chirped an alert that my memory chip was full—and the best was yet to come.

Pillar of the Sanctuary maple giant Three Falls Forest, Manlius, NY PHOTO DYarrow 7/28/05

NOTICE Restricted Access These woods are privately owned. Respect the owner's stewardship of this forest: step lightly take nothing away leave no disturbance

The terrain descends perhaps 60 feet, while the canopy remains evenly high overhead. In this deep hollow in the limestone ledge, trees are sheltered from wind, with more uniform water and nutrient supplies than trees on rocky slopes and shelves. Thus, these trees grow tall and straight, with trunks that soar from the bottom of this basin to a ceiling high above. This extra-wide opening under the canopy is a unique habitat—an island in the sky—an avian sanctuary for birds to gather and nest in a community under the canopy.

This soaring ceiling of tall, unbranching, straight-bole trees has the effect of a Forest Cathedral—one built into the earth, not built up from the earth—one built of the earth and forest, not with stone blocks and timbers.

A quick glance around identified over a dozen trees of several species that easily exceed 100 feet and 100 years. Some may exceed 200 years in age. This is an also Elders Grove.

Apparently struck by lightning, one towering hardwood giant had a deep spiral fissure split around the trunk. Another long dead hemlock still stands as a 50-foot-high snag, riddled with holes as high-rise apartments for feathered residents to next in this Forest Cathedral Sanctuary. Another similar snag was visible on the opposite side of the sinkhole.

Fern Beds by an Elder sun and shadow in The Sanctuary Three Falls Sanctuary, Manlius, NY PHOTO DYarrow 7/28/05

The opposite side of The Sanctuary's deep limestone basin is richly carpeted with hip-high ferns, testimony to the moist, calcerous soils in this hollow bowl. Even in our era of acid rains, this basin was a buffer zone of fertlity and abundance. Despite our inexpertise in botany, we quickly identified half a dozen different ferns species.

A large log lay across The Sanctuary floor, encrusted with decades of thick, shaggy moss. A shiny, dull gray coil stood out against this fuzzy green mat: a giant Millipede (photo below)—nearly the size of my little finger—snoozing amid the mosses. Muted gray of its segmented shell is highlighted by nearly irridescent rings of orange undercolor. As Lindsay began to snap closeups of this extra-ordinary denizen of The Sanctuary, this armored insect awakened and began to flee her clicking giant digital lens. I laughed to watch 1000 tiny legs trying to run away at their top speed.

Giant Millipede on a moss-covered deadfall Three Falls Forest Sanctuary, Manlius, New York PHOTO Lindsay Speer 7/26/05

In recent years, The Sanctuary canopy had holes torn in it by fall of several significant pillars. The now-recumbent, long, straight trunks and limbs of these recently standing giants blocked several sides of the Sanctuary. Their loss from the canopy admits more light into the hollow, encourages thicker fern growths—and Oriental bitterwseet advancing on the upper rim.

A single bee tree—a basswood sapling—leans in an arc above the bottom of this basin. I stood under its shade for long minutes, listening to the mid-afternoon silence. I tried to imagine this space alive with morning songs of feathered residents. I tried to imagine the basswood in fragrant full flower, with nectar sipping, pollen picking bees buzzing the creamy blossoms.

After several minutes of reverent silence, I used a dowsing rod to trace the outline of the energy vortex at the bottom of the sinkhole. My dowsing had indicated earlier this extra-ordinary and rare feature of the earth's subtle energy web—a place where a vortex descends into the earth, rather than connecting earth and sky. I noticed this exact spot had been modestly marked with a circle of smooth stones.

Fern Beds sun and shadow in The Sanctuary Three Falls Sanctuary, Manlius, NY PHOTO DYarrow 7/28/05

I stepped into this ring and meditated for several more minutes, feeling that connection downward. Clearly, this was not just a unique ecological niche. This was a sacred space—a true Sanctuary. I tried to imagine how humans can enter this sacred space. I saw circles of people holding candles singing choral harmonies of thanks for the earth's abundance, diversity and fertility.

And since I didn't get a single photo of this remarkable, enchanting community of trees, ferns, birds, Millipedes, and all, I would have to return again very soon.

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click here for the Second Scouting Visit July 28, 2005

The Earth Restoration & Reforestation Alliance — www.championtrees.org — updated 8/2/2005