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? |