|
|
Champion Big Trees of Idaho;
some are located in Boundary County |
|
November 24, 2015 |
You don't have to travel very far to see the
largest Western Hemlock in Idaho. It's located
right here in Boundary County.
And Idaho's largest Suksdorf Hawthorn tree?
We've got that, too, right here in Boundary
County.
And we think we have Idaho's biggest Subalpine
Larch, but read on.
Idaho Big Tree Program, National Big
Tree Program
The University of Idaho's Extension Forestry
department manages the Idaho Big Tree Program,
which keeps records of the biggest trees in the
state. The Idaho program is part of the American
Forests National Big Tree program, whose mission
is to locate, measure, and recognize the largest
individual tree of each species in the nation.
The national register of big trees, maintained
by the American Forests National Big Tree
program, lists all the U.S. champion trees
throughout the country. Begun in 1940 and now 75
years old, the program relies on volunteers to
hunt down, measure and nominate state and
national champion trees. In the current year
2015 there are 781 national champion trees
documented in their annual American Forests
Champion Trees register.
National Champion Trees Located in Idaho
The most recent listing of the Idaho Big Tree
Program shows that our state is home to four
national champion trees—the biggest of their
species—for the entire United States. Idaho's
four national champion trees are:
An Engelmann Spruce located near Big
Spruce Creek in Boise County, with a
circumference of over 24 feet, and a height of
181 feet.
The nation's biggest known Whitebark
Pine, located at Imogene Lake in Custer County.
This national champion Whitebark Pine is over 22
feet circumference, and 65 feet tall.
The biggest known Rocky Mountain
Lodgepole Pine in America is found near Box
Creek in Idaho's Valley County. This tree has a
circumference of about 11 feet, and is 156 feet
tall.
The largest known yellow willow in the
United States resides close to the Lemhi River
near Leadore in Lemhi County. This national
champion tree has a circumference of 25 inches,
and is 24 feet tall.
The list of all the national champion trees can
be found on the website of American Forests at
http://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree/
In evaluating and listing big trees as part of
this program, more than just the height of the
tree is taken into consideration. A scoring
system was developed that takes into account the
circumference of the tree's trunk, its height,
and the tree's average crown spread. Trees are
compared and a champion declared based on this
score. It's more a measure of the tree's
massiveness, which includes its height, rather
than just tree height alone.
And for the biggest trees in Idaho? You can see
the most current list of Idaho's biggest trees,
arranged by species, and compiled and managed by
the Idaho Extension Forestry website by
clicking
here:
Idaho Champion Trees Located in Boundary
County
This list reveals that the state's biggest known
Western Hemlock resides in our own Boundary
County, in the area of Hunt Girl Creek, which is
in the extreme southeast corner of the county.
This champion hemlock has a circumference of 15
feet, is 165 feet tall, and was officially
recognized as Idaho's tallest Western Hemlock
back in 1985.
Also in Boundary County, Idaho's biggest known
Suksdorf Hawthorn, with circumference 36 inches
and height 44 feet, can be found at West
Hideaway Island. It was added to the list as an
Idaho champion tree in 1989. West Hideaway
Island is one of a pair of islands located in
the Kootenai River about 2 1/2 miles downstream
from where the Moyie River joins the Kootenai.
Curiously, the list of Idaho Big Trees also
mentions the state's biggest Subalpine Larch, 13
feet around and 157 feet high, as being located
near Upper Roman Nose Lake in what the official
list says is "Bonner County," even though Roman
Nose Mountain and all the Roman Nose Lakes are
located well within Boundary County. We are
going to assume what they really meant was
Boundary County. That tree was declared the
Idaho champion Subalpine Larch 45 years ago in
1970.
More on Idaho Big Trees
And, just for the record, the tallest of all the
champion trees on the list of Idaho Big Trees is
a Western White Pine found at Floodwood
Creek in Clearwater County. At
229 feet tall, it's height is over 2/3 the length of
a football field.
The Idaho tree with the highest Big Tree score
in the state, using the circumference, height,
and crown scoring system, is a Western Red Cedar
whose circumference is a whopping 56 feet
around, and is 177 feet high. That tree is also
found in Clearwater County.
Not all Idaho big trees are located out in
remote forests. Many are on private lands, and
some are even right inside cities, such as the
Idaho state champion 89 foot Giant Sequoia on
the grounds of St. Luke's Hospital in urban
Boise, the champion 105 foot Bur Oak in Boise's
Julia Davis Park, and the 75 foot Scots Pine at
Ada County's U.S. Army Reserve facility.
Finding Those Big Trees
So how are these big trees discovered? Do people
go out in search of big trees, or do they just
happen upon them? Yvonne Barkley, a University
of Idaho Extension Forester and Interim Director
of the Idaho Big Tree program, says it can
happen either way. "Folks are commonly out in
the woods recreating and encounter a tree they
think is the biggest of its kind they have ever
seen. Some go out with the purpose
of finding big trees. Other champions are in
urban environments."
If you happen upon a tree that you are impressed
with and think might qualify as a champion tree,
you can fill out a nomination form available on
the Idaho Big Tree website, by following this
link:
http://www.uidaho.edu/extension/forestry/content/idahobigtree
Other information about the Idaho Big Tree
Program is also available at that website.
Nominated trees have to be verified. "The person
who nominates the big tree must take a
professional forester out to verify the
measurements," said Ms. Barkley. "These
professionals can be from the Forest Service,
Idaho Department of Lands, a university or
college, or a consulting forester."
Idaho's List to be Updated in 2016
It might be somewhat of a surprise to learn that
there are not many photographs on file or
available for many of the Idaho state champion
trees on the Big Tree List. "If you look at the
dates the current champions were recognized, you
will see that many of them have been in place
for a decade or more. People did not usually
have a camera with them at every moment of time
like they do now, hence there are very few
photos. Photos are now a requirement on the
nomination form; GPS coordinates are also being
asked for but are currently optional," said Ms.
Barkley.
Ms. Barkley indicated that for 2016, one goal of
the Idaho Forestry Extension Big Tree program
will be to review and update Idaho's Big Tree
list. This goal provides an opportunity for the
public to help out. "The national program is
encouraging nominators to re-measure and submit
their champion trees once every ten years," she
said. "Both the National and Idaho Big Tree
Registries have many champion trees listed that
have not been re-measured in decades, so there
is a huge opportunity for folks to go out and
find new big trees."
Some Questions for Our Readers
In closing this Big Tree story, we would like to
ask a few things of our readers. Please feel
free to respond to our NewsBF e-mail address:
publisher@newsbf.com. Here are our questions for
you:
1. Have any of our readers visited or seen any
of Boundary County's state champion trees,
listed above?
2. Have any of our readers visited any Idaho
Champion trees anywhere in the state?
|
|
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
