MCR Monthly Newsletter

March 2026

HABITAT is a place where plants and animals live. It provides food, water and shelter for the organisms. The place that supplies the things an organism needs to survive is its habitat. Every organism has a unique habitat that provides for its needs. Animals and plants that live in a particular area and share the resources form a community.  Within a community, organisms all have a unique niche, or role they fill to keep the community healthy.

An ecosystem includes both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components that interact with and depend on each other.

At MCR we have many different types of habitats including forests, meadows, shrublands, waterbodies and wetlands. Within these types of habitats there is a diversity of vegetation at different stages of growth, that are adapted to the type of landscape features (soils, hydrology, topography, etc) and weather conditions where they occur.  Specific to those types of habitats and their characteristics, one can find specific animals that live in them year-round or many use different habitat types for different activities in their life cycle or at different parts of the year. 

Examples include:

Herbaceous meadows (grasses and forbs) may provide a suitable place for mice, voles, woodchucks, snakes and rabbits to live in and raise young and forage, while also providing a place for raptors (hawks, owls, etc.) and large mammals (Bobcats, Fox, etc.) to hunt the animals living there for food.

A stream corridor (also known a riparian area) may provide habitat for turtles, salamanders, frogs, and fish to live in, but it also attracts other animals from other habitats for its water source or foraging possibilities.

A component of a forest may be dead hollow logs or stand dead wood (snags) that are used as shelter for raccoons, owls, opossums, woodpeckers, and countless other wildlife.  But dead or downed trees can also provide breeding areas for insects or provide nesting areas other animals.  A large tree that has blown over in a windstorm typically has an uprooted root-ball. Exposed root-balls are used by many animals for shelter or even overwintering areas. Bears at Merrill Creek Reservoir have been known to borough under root balls and make a den for the winter, providing a safe place for female bears to hibernate and give birth to young.

The open water of the reservoir provides a crucial place for migrating birds (waterfowl (ducks, geese) and/or waterbirds (loons, cormorants, grebes) to stop, rest and feed during their arduous migration journeys.

Habitat also can provide other ecosystem services, such as recreation opportunities.  An example of this here at Merrill Creek Reservoir is how MCR’s aquatic habitat provides the public opportunities to boat or kayak and fish for record size gamefish like trout, bass and landlocked salmon.

Habitat loss and degradation is the number one cause of global animal population decline. To manage its lands, wildlife, habitat and other ecosystem services that the property provides the local community, as well as the region associated with the Delaware River Basin, MCR implements a NJ approved Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP).  Although the FSP itself is a tool for the management of the property, MCR voluntarily implements additional complementary conservation projects to the FSP that enhance and/or restore other ecological resources at MCR.  The habitat enhancements and restorations at MCR are expected to have far-reaching benefits, not just for wildlife, but for surrounding communities as well. By bringing in talented and passionate collaborators and working towards a common goal, we solidified a symbiotic relationship with communities to foster environmental awareness while enhancing wildlife and natural systems. Our habitat projects here at MCR serve as models for recognizing the benefits of collaboration for restoration, protection and stewardship of natural resources.

Please realize when you visit….. you are just that! The “visitor” in a place many animals call home.

Please respect it!

Yours in conservation, passionately,

Ranger Rich