Washington, D.C.
A stately white oak in Virginia, a massive bristlecone pine in Nevada and a towering Coast-Douglas fir are among the new stars on a biennial list of the nation’s largest trees. Today, AMERICAN FORESTS, the nation’s oldest conservation group, unveiled the 2004-2005 National Register of Big Trees. AMERICAN FORESTS created the Register in 1940 as a way to champion forest conservation by recognizing the outstanding specimens of the nation’s native and naturalized trees. A champion tree is “crowned” based on a formula that awards points for height, circumference and crown spread. The tree with the largest number of points is crowned champion for its species. Trees within five points are considered co-champions. There are 826 native and naturalized species eligible for the inclusion on the Register. The current list totals 889 champs and co-champs representing 738 of those 826 species. Florida again has the most national champion’s trees (163); followed by California (102), Arizona (84), Texas (80), and Virginia (56). The Register is available in print from AMERICAN FORESTS or online at www.americanforests.org.
Since the 2002 Register, 156 new champs have been crowned, while 115 were “dethroned” by larger trees or have died. Other notable trees in the list include a 570-point Monterey pine near Carmel, California, and a common jujube, growing on the grounds of the Capitol in Washington, DC – the capital city’s first true national champion
Not every tree specimen in the continental United States has a national champion. There are currently 87 species without a national champ and five states that do not have one. These states include Delaware, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Kansas re-entered the Register, after a 10-year absence, with a 141-point eastern redbud in Topeka.
Among the 38 champion trees no longer listed on the Register is the 508-point “Wye Oak” white oak in Maryland, which had been the national champion since the Register began, until it toppled in a 2002 storm. It was replaced by a 427-point white oak tree in Brunswick County, Virginia. Among other old favorites lost: the long standing champion Jeffrey pine in California that died from an infestation of bark beetles and a rare Schott’s yucca, lost in the 2002 Arizona wildfires.
The giant sequoia, “General Sherman,” in California’s Sequoia National Park, remains the nation’s largest tree and the world’s largest living thing. It’s one of only three trees that have reigned on the Register since its inception. The other two from the “Class of 1940” are a western juniper in Stanislaus National Forest, California and a Rocky Mountain juniper in Cache National Forest, Utah.
The National Register of Big Trees is available online at www.americanforests.org which features a big tree database searchable by height, width, circumference, crown spread, points, species, state and much more. The 2004/2005 National Register of Big Trees is also available in the spring issue of American Forests magazine. The Register is available for $7.95 or is free with a $25 annual membership from AMERICAN FORESTS, P.O. Box 2000, Washington, D.C. 20006. An AMERICAN FORESTS membership includes a one-year subscription to the magazine, and the planting of 25 trees on your behalf in an ecosystem restoration project.
AMERICAN FORESTS’ National Register of Big Trees is sponsored by The Davey Tree Expert Company, which also sponsors American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees Calendar.
The Davey Tree Expert Company provides tree, shrub and lawn care, large tree moving, grounds management, vegetation management and consulting services throughout North America. Davey is employee-owned with nearly 5,000 employees in the United States and Canada. For more information about the company, access www.davey.com