HMF tour

Since the Hutcheson Memorial Forest is not open to the public on a daily basis, the Sunday tours are one of the best ways to see this specially protected site.  Here is the announcement for this weekend's tour if you are in the area:
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Hutcheson Memorial Forest Tour
Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
Tour Leader:
Dr. Peter Morin (Community Ecologist) Summer in the Forest: Plants, Insects, and Interactions.

The Hutcheson Memorial Forest (HMF) is a unique area consisting of one of the last uncut forests in the Mid-Atlantic States, along with the surrounding lands devoted to protection of the old forest and research into ecological interactions necessary to understand the forest. The tract is administered and protected by Rutgers University.

It is apparently the only uncut upland forest in the Piedmont of New Jersey, and appears on the National Park Service Register of Natural Landmarks.

Tours leave from the entrance of the woods on 2150 Amwell Road (Rt. 514) in Somerset. From New Brunswick, follow Hamilton Street west past JFK Blvd, Cedar Grove Lane and Elizabeth St.  HMF is on the left past The Gardeners Nook. The driveway is located just past the guardrail over the brook.
 
The trail may be muddy in places so come prepared.

The tour through the woods and fields takes between one and two hours.

Tours are free and reservations are not required for these guided tours.** Groups of more than ten persons may not attend the guided tours. Such groups are invited to arrange special tours.

To make special arrangements please contact:
Land Manager, Hutcheson Memorial Forest Center,
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources,
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-932-9349x16,
hmfdirector@aesop.rutgers.edu 
For more information and a complete tour schedule for 2010 visit:  http://rci.rutgers.edu/~hmforest/

**HMF is not open to the public on a daily basis.