Wolf Swamp is a combination of forest and mountain peatland that makes it home to many uncommon plant, animal, and bird species.
Visiting the Preserve
Wolf Swamp's mountain peatlands are fragile, so the preserve is only open to scientific research with prior permission from The Nature Conservancy. Thank you for your understanding and help in protecting this important part of Maryland's natural heritage.
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Wolf Swamp's 25 acres harbors a pocket of boreal life that is a relict from the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago. These rare mountain peatlands are reservoirs for the southernmost occurrences of several unique and unusual species in North America.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing Here
Protected since 1988, in addition to monitoring and research, the Conservancy also acts as a steward to ensure that the site maintains its ecological viability.
- Some of Maryland's most mature stands of white pine, hemlock, and red spruce, adjacent to a floating mat of sphagnum moss.
- State-rare pale green orchis, wild calla, mountain rice, and the yellow clintonia.
- State-rare mountain chorus frog and golden-crowned kinglet.
- An unusual diversity of nesting birds, which includes the northern waterthrush, black-throated blue warbler, Canada warbler, solitary vireo, and the magnolia warbler.