The Tifft Nature Preserve is a 264-acre nature preserve in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, and one of the largest municipal nature preserves in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

The land that is now the Tifft Nature Preserve was originally part of extensive Native American hunting and gathering grounds. By the 1700s it had come under the control of the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

. The land was first deeded in 1845. George Washington Tifft purchased 600 acres in 1858, transforming it into a large dairy farm. The Tifft family held onto the land until 1883. By 1900 the site had become a trans-shipment center, primarily for coal and iron ore. It had twelve shipping lanes and docked 83 vessels. This ended with the 1912 Panama Canal Act, which forced the separation of all rail and shipping interests. During the 1950s and 1960s, the site had become an unofficial dump. The land was purchased in the 1970s by the City of Buffalo for use as a landfill. In 1973, 2,000,000 cubic yards of refuse was transferred from Squaw Island and spread on the Tifft land. Following public outcry, a city-supported not-for-profit organization was organized in 1976. A visitor center was completed in 1978. The not-for-profit was merged with the Buffalo Museum of Science in 1982. The preserve was temporarily closed in 1983 for removal of hazardous waste by the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...

Description

The preserve consists of of restored habitat, including a

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...

marsh. It is an important northeastern stopover for migratory raptor and waterfowl species. The preserve was designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

in 1998. Public access is provided by five miles of nature trails and three boardwalks with viewing blinds in, and adjacent to, the cattail marsh. Popular outdoor recreational activities includes

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The Herb and Jane Darling Education Center provides educational displays, restrooms, and indoor programming and event space. The parking lot and trails are open year-round from dawn to dusk.

Gallery

TifftNaturePreserve2.jpg, Cattail marshland facing north, alt=Boardwalk trail across water TifftNaturePreserve3.jpg, Grassland facing north, towards downtown Buffalo, alt=Treed grassland, with downtown Buffalo in the background TifftNaturePreserve4.jpg, Cattail marshland facing south, alt=Trees, grasses and open water

References

{{Buffalo, New York Parks in Buffalo, New York Urban public parks