Campgaw Mountain - Ecology

Ecology

Campgaw Mountain, while adjacent to the Ramapo Mountains, features a unique ecosystem in relation to the surrounding area. In fact, according to the U.S. EPA, Campgaw Mountain is in a level III and IV ecoregion that is completely different from the Ramapo Mountains. Specifically, Campgaw Mountain’s ecology is defined by its status as a level IV trap rock and conglomerate upland (ecoregion 64b), similar to the nearby Preakness Range. Features of this ecoregion include thin, well drained soils and oak forests. Hemlock forests on northern facing slopes are also common to this ecoregion, and these are characteristically present along the northeastern slope of Campgaw Mountain.

In addition to oak, chestnut and redcedar were historically prominent on Campgaw Mountain. Today, chestnuts have been eliminated by the accidental importation of chestnut blight in the early twentieth century. Redcedar, however, is still abundant along the ridgeline, unlike on nearby Goffle Hill, where the tree has been all but extirpated, and in the Preakness Range, where redcedar has become rare.