Pickerel Pond Preserve

This preserve of 78 hectares was donated to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick in 1993 by nine anonymous donors. It is adjacent to Maquapit Lake in Queen's County.
The outstanding features of this preserve are the high diversity of species present and the complex ecology consisting of three distinct ecosystems. There is a sandspit (a raised sand and gravel bank) penetrated at one point by a 20ft. wide channel between a keyhole lake and Maquapit Lake. There is a marsh with a gradation of plants depending on the moisture. The marsh grades gradually into a lowland forest. The forest area is diverse, consisting of relatively undisturbed areas and of bushland growing on abandoned fields.
The species present are characteristic of the lakes region of southern New Brunswick with many plants which are uncommon in other parts of the province. The mossy-cup oak, the swamp milkweed, and rare sedges as well as the rare halberd-leaved tear thumb are all present. The site is on a major bird migration route; black duck and Canada geese frequent the pond. The marsh and pond provide a good habitat for amphibians. The Nature Trust has carried out a careful field survey of this site including mapping, transects, ecological zone descriptions, with a listing of plant species, some animal species, and photographs.