Date Acquired: 2018

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Location: Scott Street, Woodstock NB

Trails: (Non-MRA) Keenan Ridge Loop, Keenan Ridge Main Trail

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          Keenan Ridge is a 17 ha preserve located just off the Trans-Canada Highway in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Accessed via Scott Street, the property begins upstream of the highway bridge and protects a section of Marven Brook, one of the Meduxnekeag River's most important cold-water tributaries. Despite its proximity to the highway, the preserve offers visitors a diverse forest experience while protecting valuable wildlife habitat and water resources.

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          Beginning at the trailhead, visitors pass through a white pine plantation that is visible from the highway. This plantation supports patches of common milkweed, an important host plant for monarch butterflies and a valuable nectar source for many native pollinators. The Keenan Ridge Loop winds through this young pine forest before connecting to the Keenan Ridge Main Trail, which descends the ridge through a diverse mixed-wood forest toward Marven Brook.

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          As the trail drops in elevation, the forest transitions to a rich Appalachian hardwood community dominated by sugar maple, yellow birch, eastern white pine, balsam fir, and red maple. White ash and black ash are particularly notable on the lower slopes, with black ash occurring near groundwater seepage areas where consistently moist soils provide ideal growing conditions. The fertile forest floor supports a diverse assemblage of spring wildflowers and understory plants, thriving on the moist mineral soil.

One of the property's most distinctive features is a large groundwater spring that emerges from the hillside and flows toward the Meduxnekeag River. This cold, clean groundwater helps regulate stream temperatures and provides an important source of thermal refuge for salmonids and other fish species during the warm summer months. As the trail continues through mature white pine and mixed hardwood forests, it reaches Marven Brook, where the preserve boundaries end. During periods of low water, experienced hikers may be able to ford the brook and continue onto the neighbouring Hamilton Point Preserve using the same trail system.

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          By protecting the forests surrounding Marven Brook, Keenan Ridge plays an important role in maintaining water quality, stabilizing streambanks, and preserving one of the Meduxnekeag watershed's most productive fish spawning tributaries. Marven Brook's cool, well-oxygenated water and abundant pea gravel substrate provide excellent spawning habitat for salmonids, while the surrounding forest shades the stream, filters runoff, and supports a rich diversity of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

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          Written by Devon Bustard