Flooded trees in New England?

June 11, 2010 5:26 PM

I'm looking for flooded woods in New England. I want to film something in a place where dead trees are coming up from the water. I see this frequently along the highway, and it's probably caused by reshaping the land to build the roads. Does anyone know of any parks in New England where this or something similar is happening?
posted by davidriley to Science & Nature (9 answers total)

It's not a park, but at this waterfall on the Charles in South Natick, MA, there was some really bad flooding from the storms in May. So bad that a lot of the land directly to the left of the bottom part of that bridge is gone. A bunch of trees are still standing, and I believe they're still underwater.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:35 PM on June 11, 2010

I believe they're still underwater.

(The roots, obviously. Not the entire trees.)
posted by oinopaponton at 5:39 PM on June 11, 2010

Beavers are responsible for a surprising amount of that these days in Massachusetts.

These folks may be able to tell you where you can find beaver ponds to photograph.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:50 PM on June 11, 2010

There's some trees like that at Walden pond, not a ton, and they aren't dead (yet?) but they are there. It's up 4 feet from normal I think, due to heavy spring rains.
posted by sully75 at 5:57 PM on June 11, 2010

there's several stands of white birchs submerged in water along the taconic parkway in new york. i can dig up an exit number if desired.
posted by kimyo at 6:30 PM on June 11, 2010

it's probably caused by reshaping the land to build the roads.
No. Environmental regs these days keep road builders from messing with streams and wetlands. As mentioned by Chocolate Pickle, what you are seeing is mostly the work of beavers. If you're in Cambridge, I'd suggest heading just about anywhere beyond Route 128. Mass. Audubon sanctuaries probably have what you need, for example, Broadmoor in Natick, or Wachusett Meadow in Princeton.
posted by beagle at 6:53 PM on June 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

There are lots of great beaver ponds like this along the Robert Frost Trail (and linked trailways) in Amherst, MA.
posted by cirripede at 7:30 PM on June 11, 2010

I used to work at a warehouse that had one of these out back, easily accessible and the public wasn't really ever banned from the place (after 6pm, people would come by and learn to ride motorcycles in the parking lot). It was in Methuen, MA - memail me if that's anywhere close to you.
posted by kpht at 7:37 PM on June 11, 2010

I don't know if this is too late, but Willowdale State Forest currently has some flooded areas. You can see it right off rt 1 on the Ipswich/Topsfield line, by West Street.
posted by Marit at 6:04 PM on June 25, 2010