Kates Branch lies just north of the interstate which was rerouted to avoid this wetland complex surrounded by hemlock and white pine forests. There are old fields in various stages of succession mixed with these even-aged pine stands. Shrublands skirt the herbaceous wetland center which occurs in the wettest or early successional positions. Herbaeceous and shrub dominance is also variable depending on hydrology and patch dominance.;Narrow shrub wetland finger partly shaded by hemlock and pine forest. Community is an alder thicket with grasses and sedges in the understory.
Representativeness
ELU 2233 (slope bottom on sandstone plateau); shrub wetland finger