Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Henry Hanley Biological Field Preserve

The Colleges' 108-acre wildlife refuge close to nearby Cayuga Lake offers students an area for ecological studies. The area has been developed and preserved as a wildlife sanctuary. The preserve, located about 20 miles from campus, has over 40 ponds, a deciduous forest, cultivated fields, old fields, swamps, a stream, and numerous other habitats. It is inhabited by waterfowl, a deer herd, beaver, muskrats, coyotes, foxes, and many birds, reptiles and amphibians. The Richard Ryan Field Laboratory building was opened on the preserve in 1994, and provides a location for lecture and laboratory activities.

One of the many ponds at the Preserve.

Surveying plant species diveristy on pond edges for a final project in BD 219.

A frog at the edge of one of the Hanley ponds.

Surveying insect species data for a final project in BD 219.

Students collect ecological data for an Environmental Assessment of the Preserve.

Wildflower along one of the trails at Hanley.

Collecting plant species data for a final project on plant diversity in different habitats for BD 219.

Large scale map of the the Hanley Preserve.