Trail making on the Clover property

From the Fall, 2013 WCT Newsletter:

Have you noticed the new WCT sign on Old County Road in South Wellfleet? It marks the trail head of our new trail through the Clover property. As you may remember, this property was the keystone of a plan sponsored by the WCT, the Open Space Committee, and incorporating Community Preservation Act funds, to preserve 8 acres of upland pine woodlands and establish trails connecting with the Cape Cod National Seashore. Throughout the spring, volunteers including WCT trustees and Open Space Committee members have been busy installing, marking, and mapping trails through the Clover property which formally closed last December. The 8 acres are situated in critical habitat areas for Species of Special Concern, and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program reports three rare animal species living on or near the site. Endangered Mayflowers are among the many outstanding natural attributes of this property.

The land consists of a healthy pitch pine and oak tree forest with full canopy. The shrub layer consists of viburnum, bayberry, shadbush, highbush and lowbush blueberry, and black huckleberry. This understory suggests that while the land may have been cleared (as most of the Cape was by the mid-19th century), it was never plowed. Groundcovers include mayflower, checkerberry, Indian pipes, and other typical native flora.

The house on the property dates back to 1840. After renting the house several summers beginning in 1962, the Clover family bought the house and land in 1969, and it served as their summer home for many years. On the property are the remnants of a pheasant pen, a cartpath, and what remains of Old Bell Road. When the family decided to dedicate the property to conservation, they patiently endured the torts of a long process – for which the trustees are deeply grateful, because this is truly a prized parcel.