An Urban Sanctuary

— Natural History —

Nature to Industry to Nature 1998 Designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by National Audubon Society. 1983 Preserve closed for hazardous waste removal. 1982 Preserve merged with Buffalo Museum of Science. 1978 Makowski Visitor Center completed. 1976 Preserve organized as not-for-ptofit corporation and staffed. 1973 Two million cubic yards of refuse transferred from Squaw Island [renamed Unity Island]. 1972 Land purchased by City of Buffalo. 1912 Panama Canal Act forces separation of rail and shiping interests. 1900 12 shipping lines docked 83 vessels at Tifft Farm. 1883 Land sold by the Tifft family. 1858 George Tifft buys 60 acres. 1845 Land first deeded. 1700s Iroquois Confederation claimed land from neutral indians. 1600s Hunting and gathering ground for neutral indians. American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus Pied-billied Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps Green Heron, Butorides virescens Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata Wild Life Returns! Tifft Nature Preserve has come full circle since the mid-1800s. Rich native wetlands were overrun by farms, stockyards, and a major transshipment terminal. But now the lumber docks, coal trestles, lake freighters, and rail cars are gone, and the area once again shelters a large number of plants, birds and other animals on the edge of downtown Buffalo. Plant Communities Legend Emergent Marsh - Look for American Bittern feeding or 'freezing' along marsh edge. Watch for Pied-billed Grebe in open water areas. Search for Green Heron along treed edges. Successional Old Field - This short-lived community will be quickly invaded by pioneer trees and shrubs. A great place to study insects. Successional Shrubland - Look for migrating and resident warblers, listen for Catbird. Successional Shrubs and Pioneer Trees - Transitional community that will eventually become an upland forest. Successional Woodland - Young forest on disturbed bottom and provides nesting habitat for many bird species. Mature Woodland - Dominated by Black Willow and Eastern Cottonwood. Look and listen for woodpeckers. Landfill - Grasses and herbaceous plants growing on sealed landfield. Look for open country bird species like Savannah Sparrow, Tree Swallow, and Killdear. Many coastal areas along the Seaway Trail have a complex history of human use.

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Development of the Outer Harbor
Environmental Remediation
The Concrete Central Elevator
The Electric Elevator Annex
The Cargill Superior Elevator
The American Elevator
The Perot Malting Elevator
The Marine "A" Elevator
The Lake and Rail Elevator
The H-O Oats Elevator

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