Goose Pond was originally published in the September-October edition of Posey Magazine then again (this edit) in American Journal on November 7.
What residents of Posey County, Ind., call Goose Pond is actually a series of small cypress sloughs that form a geographic curve about four miles long. Cypress sloughs are areas where water naturally congregates, slightly lower in elevation that the surrounding land. Situated in a lonely area just east of the town of Mt. Vernon, Ind.,...
more »Goose Pond was originally published in the September-October edition of Posey Magazine then again (this edit) in American Journal on November 7.
What residents of Posey County, Ind., call Goose Pond is actually a series of small cypress sloughs that form a geographic curve about four miles long. Cypress sloughs are areas where water naturally congregates, slightly lower in elevation that the surrounding land. Situated in a lonely area just east of the town of Mt. Vernon, Ind., near the Ohio River and often inaccessible due to backwater or mud, Goose Pond is little known except to old hunters and fishermen and people interested in ancient American history and archeology. But it is a place of incredible natural abundance and beauty.
Bald cypress, a majestic tree that dominates the slough, is rarely found this far north. A deciduous conifer, cousin to the California redwood, it is best known for its weather resistance and is often used to build boardwalks or decks. For nature enthusiasts, bald cypress is known for its "knees," branches of its root system that rise out of the ground into the surrounding mud or water. Their purpose is unknown, but scientists speculate that they may provide additional oxygen to the tree or help anchor it in the soft, muddy soil in which it thrives.
Wildlife abounds in the isolation of the slough as well. "I see beaver, snakes, coon, and possum. I've seen quite a few copper belly snakes on the pond. And of course there are a lot of deer and wild turkey," says a nearby landowner. "In the last few years we've started seeing some bald eagles. There are at least three pair of geese that nest on the slough and stick around to raise their young. Last year we saw a family of bobcats--a mother and three young ones. There's a fairly big beaver hut out in the slough by the old duck blind. And the fall is awesome. The leaves on the cypress turn a reddish brown color."
The Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated to preserving the Earth's plant and animal diversity, has purchased a portion of the slough and hopes to purchase more. While the conservancy sometimes restores properties by removing invasive species and/or reintroducing native plants, other times it simply leaves properties as they are. At Goose Pond, its current strategy is to leave the sloughs untouched.
Unfortunately, Goose Pond as we know it probably won't be around for much longer. Flooding from the Ohio River, more frequent in recent years, deposits up to two inches of silt every year; eventually, the slough will be filled in entirely. Much of it is already choked with invasive lily plants and silt from the backwater.
For archeologists, Goose Pond echoes with history. It abuts the Mann site, which was the center of the Hopewell culture that dominated the Midwestern United States for 700 years until around 500 A.D.
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