Woodlands at Engel Conservation Area range from former oak savanna and oak woods to mixed hardwoods and wooded wetlands.  Most of the woodland acreage is rather young (less than 30 years old) where trees have naturalized in areas that were formerly cleared for agricultural crops.  These younger woods have not developed a great diversity of native species and tend to be highly impacted by nonnative invasive plants.  The older growth woodlands areas (oak savanna & oak woods) were never cropped but were negatively affected by former use as cattle pasture as well as invasion of alien plant species.  Efforts are underway to control nonnative invasive plants and reintroduce more native species to improve the ecological health of the woodlands.

Wood anemones blooming on forest floor in spring

White trillium is another spring woodland wildflower