Trexler Nature Preserve

, whose philanthropy established Trexler Nature Preserve European settlers have used the land that is now the Trexler Nature preserve since at least the 1760s when Micheal Mosser purchased a large tract of land in Lowhill Township and erected a gristmill on Mill Creek, which was the source of the creek's name. This mill was one of the first of its kind in the county, and certainly the first in Lowhill Township. In 1800, John Hollenbach started a competing mill on the creek's east side. These mills carried on throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. In 1901 local industrialist General Harry Clay Trexler, began purchasing much of the surrounding farmland in order to form a "deer reservation". Trexler was native to the Lehigh Valley; he was born in Easton in 1854. He made his fortune in timber and concrete and by the turn of the 20th century was a wealthy man. Like many wealthy men his age at the time, Trexler enjoyed hunting and the wilderness. An early environmentalist, Trexler believed that much of the large wild game in the United States had been hunted to the brink of extinction and that efforts were needed to protect those that remained. until Trexler's untimely death in 1933. Probate of Trexler's will was settled in 1935 and left the county owning the renamed "Trexler Game Preserve". For the next forty years, the preserve was open only on Sundays, with informal petting and feeding exhibits. In 1969, the game preserve commission engaged McFadzean, Everly & Associates to plan and develop a children's zoo at the site. This twenty-nine-acre zoo opened May 18, 1975. The exhibits became more formalized, and the animal collection was expanded to include exotic animals from Africa, Asia, and Australia. Construction costs for the zoo originally estimated at $400,000 quickly increased to more than $2,000,000. Admission projections, originally estimated to reach 650,000 by 1977, only reached 112,342 that year. These monies were to be used to reopen the entire preserve to the general public. In the winter and spring of 2005 and 2006, respectively, interviews and public meetings were conducted to determine how to return the preserve to public use. The overwhelming response was that the land should be brought back to its natural state (much harmed after years of inartful range management) and that passive recreational facilities (such as hiking trails) should be constructed. In response to this input, Lehigh County commissioned and built a new trail system and, as of 2013, continues efforts to reclaim the land from damage caused by inartful range management. == Topography ==

Most of the Preserve's distinctive topography is a consequence of water erosion by Jordan Creek and its tributaries through the uplands of the Schochary Ridge. Geology The park's boundaries are on the far-east terminus of the Schochary Ridge; It marks the boundary of the "Game Preserve" fault line which separates the New Tripoli formation of the Schochary Ridge and the Martinsburg formations. The Schochary Ridge is an outcropping of rock which formed during the last stages of the Taconic orogeny. The long east–west-oriented ridge is several miles south of Kittatinny Ridge (within the otherwise flat and fertile Lehigh Valley) and is bisected, within the park, by Jordan Creek. The non-Schochary geology of the Nature Preserve is of the Martinsburg Formation, predominately made up of New Tripoli Member. The Martinsburg Formation developed during the Ordovician period (490 to 443 million years ago), and is characterized by dark grey shale and thin beds of siltstone and sandstone, with depths up to 12,000 feet. The New Tripoli group, the dominant geologic member in the preserve, is composed of shale and calcareous turbidites with sedimentary characteristics. Shale is largely impervious to water producing high surface runoff, but its weak structure is highly erodible, resulting in gentle slopes. Hydrology Jordan Creek and its minor tributaries, including Mill Creek, Hegel's Run, Elk Ridge Run, Macintosh Run, and Thicket Run, give the preserve a distinctive hill and valley character. The preserve is the easternmost extent of Schochary Ridge, which arises from the relatively flat surfaces of the Lehigh Valley. Mill Creek is a major perennial tributary; its watershed drains large portions of agricultural land in the Lowhill Township, southern Heidelberg, and Washington Townships. Mill Creek does not enter the preserve but forms its geographic western boundary and joins with the Jordan Creek just short of the preserve. The creek, whose swift waters eroded the valley in which it flows, separates the preserve from the more westerly State Game Lands 205. Mill Creek also provides a perennial source of water which helps to maintain the thicket of deciduous trees, which are principally oak and maple and grow on the preserve's north-western boundary. After the confluence of the Jordan and Mill Creeks, the Jordan enters the preserve and heads north-north-east. To its west, the Jordan is bounded by the imposing Mill Hill (along which the Theyken Ridge Trail runs). Further downstream, Mill Hill recedes straight north as the Jordan turns east—Mill Hill's proximity to the Jordan is further distanced by a valley cut by Hegel's Run. Hegel's Run is a perennial minor tributary of Jordan Creek, originating within skunk cabbage wetlands in the interior of the preserve. Flowing north to south, Hegel's Run continues out of the wetlands and parallel to the Fireman's trail where, along its course, it is fed by two smaller unnamed tributaries originating from springs on the sloping Mill Hill which are blanketed by a heavy canopy of autumn-olive and by a minor tributary originating to the northeast in the grassy Schantz valley. Hegel's Run flows further south where, after being crossed by the firemen's trail forms a confluence with Jordan Creek immediately upstream of Schlicher's Covered Bridge. After passing under Schlicher's Covered Bridge and a pedestrian footbridge, the Jordan Creek makes a hairpin curve, ultimately turning to flow straight south. To the east of the creek, in this section, arises Elk Ridge, which is the last and easterly most rise of the Schochary Ridge. Elk Ridge Run, Macintosh Run and Thicket Run are all seasonally intermittent minor tributaries of the Jordan. Just before the ford, the Jordan is joined by Elk Ridge Run. This south flowing watercourse begins near the bison paddocks and drains the eastern slope of Elk Ridge and the western slope of the environmental center grasslands. After the ford, the Jordan Creek continues south until forming a confluence with Macintosh Run. Since the early 2010s, the Northern Range has also been developed by the Valley Mountain Bikers. They have developed mountain biking trails through dense thickets of autumn-olive. The trails are open to the public and can be accessed via the North Range Utility Road and parking lot. The central Range is the largest of the three ranges; it also contains the greatest variation of topography. It is bounded on the north by the Jordan Creek and Hegel's Run and on the south by Old Packhouse Road—a portion of the southern end is occupied by the Lehigh County composting facility. The Central Range is subdivided into eastern and western sections by the Jordan Creek. The Eastern Central Range begins south of Hegel's Run and is centered around the dramatic Elk Ridge, which is the highest point in the preserve and also forms the extreme easterly extent of the Schochary Ridge. Elk Ridge is home to the preserve's bison and elk herds. The extreme eastern boundary which borders Lehigh Carbon County Community College is marked by a deciduous tree-line of walnut, oak, and maple receding into grasslands interspersed with autumn-olive. The center is on one of the highest parts of the preserve and features straight lines, a low profile, and muted colors which merge the building into dramatically rolling grasslands. It also has a rooftop observation area, a community room for environmental education programs and meetings, and restroom facilities for park visitors. The building also houses satellite offices for the Lehigh County Parks Department and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. The Western Central Range begins south of Jordan Creek and is centered around the Lehigh Valley Zoo. Because of the presence of the zoo, and the road connectivity, including the Jordan Ford, it is the most visited section of the preserve. This section has views of west-facing Lowhill Township grasslands. The lowland sections provide views of eastern Pennsylvania river valleys, and fishing opportunities. The Trexler Border Trail, as it descends off the western veld and down into the Jordan Creek Valley, is surrounded in spring and summer by fecund native wildflower, which draw abundant native butterfly and birds. The Trexler nature trail, which follows Jordan Creek from the ford has views of the river, as well as mixed deciduous and conifer forest and exposed shale formations which are often covered in damp mosses. There are bird blinds in this area for ornithologists. The Northern boundary of the Southern Range is Old Packhouse Road and its Southern the boundary of a commercial orchard. This range is the least visited and most ecologically precarious of the three with only a single trail leading into this area—the Trexler border trail. At one time, large parts of this range were in production as an apple orchard. Stands of old apple trees interspersed with autumn-olive dot this landscape. At the far south of the park is a large glade of Eastern Hemlock and other conifers which provides a distinctly different forest environment from elsewhere in the preserve. The confluence of Thicket Run and the Jordan Creek also create a moist lowland ideal for the growth of wildflowers and cattails. == Flora and fauna ==

in November 2015 Much of the preserve consists of rolling expanses of grassland, is characterized by landscape that is unnatural to eastern Pennsylvania and is dominated by non-native plant species. This is a consequence of the early history of the preserve as poorly managed reservation for large ruminant animals and as an experimental apple orchard. This landscape is not native to the humid temperate climate of eastern Pennsylvania. Such grassland in eastern Pennsylvania are typically only found in dairy and beef farming operations. These animal's feeding habits control the emergence of invasive plants preventing reclamation of the land by forests. To establish grassland in his reservation, Trexler ordered marginal rocky lands plowed and the planting of grasses. Modern game management aims for no more than twenty such animals per square mile. The result of this overgrazing on the native plant ecology and grassland was catastrophic. The preserve has also started a project to reintroduce American chestnut - a native tree that was nearly destroyed by blight at the end of the nineteenth century. == Recreation==

An account of the preserve in 1914 when still privately owned by Trexler as the "Trexler Deer Preserve" noted that "[the animals] have become a great curiosity, and many persons are seen almost daily, especially on Sundays, driving or walking along the road from Schnecksville through the park for several miles, to see the wild animals grazing on the hill-sides." [i]f a trip through my preserve has opened to you a little wider the great outdoors, and nature has revealed something you may not before have seen or known, I shall feel repaid in my efforts to help conserve in its proper setting some of our wildlife. In contemplation of the importance of the preserve, Trexler devised the property to the County of Lehigh in fee simple with instructions that it should forever be maintained for the benefit of the citizens of Lehigh County. Through the 1960s, passive recreation in the preserve dwindled. It was only open on Sundays, and then only for informal petting and animal watching. Much of this construction has occurred within dense thickets of autumn-olive. Public access to the mountain biking trails is available via the Northern Range Utility Road and parking lot. Lehigh Valley Zoo The Lehigh Valley Zoo, established in 1975, is now a privately run enterprise which leases its land and buildings from Lehigh County. Hunting and fishing For nearly a century, the preserve operated with a philosophy not to cull its deer population. This, combined with the bison and elk herds led to animal populations in excess of 250 animals per square mile. The hunt yielded a substantial number of deer, including large bucks. Archery hunting is still permitted in some parts of the preserve, provided that the hunter is properly licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that the hunt occurs during the normal archery season, and subject to all other Commonwealth hunting statutes and regulations. Beginning in 2008, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission began to stock Jordan Creek with trout. Several hundred yards of easily accessible river front was set aside for children and the disabled. == References ==