fanning, Saturday, July 14,1984 istcr Big tree largest WASHINGTON - Douglas firs in Oregon twice have grown big enough to become national champions, the biggest trees of their kind. But both times, the giant coast firs were blown down in storms. Oregon hasn’t had the Douglas fir champ since 1975. The title reverted both times to the same mighty rival in neigh boring Washington’s Olympic National Park. Oregon big-tree hunters were not about to take that lying down; they posted a $3OO reward for anyone knowing the whereabouts of a bigger fir. “We want the record fir back. After all, the Douglas fir is Oregon’s state tree,” said Maynard Drawson, a Salem barber and veteran tree hunter, who put up $lOO of the reward. Register for the Biggest The statewide alert asks citizens to be on the lookout for a fir taller than 221 feet, more than 45 feet, 5 inches around the trunk, and broader than 61 feet at the crown. While some people may be out hunting big game, birds on the wing, or buried treasure, others are stalking the biggest living things on Earth: trees. Of the billions of trees in this country, some tower above the rest as the biggest of their species. The hunters’ challenge is to find even bigger specimens. Champions are listed in the National Register of Big Trees, which has been kept for nearly 40 years by the American Forestry Association. Currently there are about 655 titleholders. Only those trees that appear the U.S. Forest Service’s “Checklist of United States Trees (Native and Naturalized)” are «» BLACK Lt 6REt Yellow BLUE BROWN T#£ ORE ATBLUE HERON THIS BMP IS OORLPRQEST commonu/rper, itflies UUTHR SLOWRE6OLRR Wing Bent My usually NBST/N FLOCKS BOTTHEY HUNT FOR. FOOD RLONE. TUB NBST CONSISTS OF LOOSE Masses of Brick's built IN TREE TOPS OR/NBUSHES. YOUN6 HERONS RRESCRMNi HELPLESS BIRDS FOR SEV ERAL UUEERS BEFORE they LEARN TO FLY. hunters stalk living things eligible. The 679 species range from popular varieties of oak, elm, pine, and maple to more exotic trees such as devil’s walkmgstick, fiddlewood, parasoltree, and darling plum. It’s not enough for a tree to come from the right background and grow to championship size, a combination of height, girth, and crown spread of the branches. To get into the Register, a tree must first be noticed and nominated. The national champion American elm had been growing for more than 260 years before it was discovered by chance in 1977 on the edge of a Kansas wheat field. Known as the Louis Vieux elm, it is now the only tree in the only state-owned forest in Kansas. The IVz-acre, circular forest, created by the State Legislature in 1981, stands near the site where the Oregon Trail crossed the Ver million River. The sohltary elm, which is 99 feet tall and spreads its branches out over 133 feet, had been scheduled to be cut down for construction of a county road when a Kansas wildlife official happened to spot it in the rearview mirror of his car. Oasis for Pioneers Records show that the tree’s shade refreshed weary pioneers whose covered wagons moved westward along the trail. The elm was named for its original owner, a part-Indian, part-French trader who acquired 315 acres-and the tree-in an 1867 Potawatomi Indian treaty. “Why the elm was never cut down, no one can say,” observed Gene W. Grey, assistant state forester. “It certainly stood in the OZMG E GREEN LT BROWN LT. BLUE LT. GREEN 7- /9- 84 0 champion tree, the venerable Wye Oak spreads its branches out 158 feet. Growing for more than 400 years on Maryland's Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, it is the largest white oak in the United States. As biggest of its species, it is one of 655 trees that appear in the American Forestry Association’s National Register of Big Trees. way of farming a fertile river- around the trunk of some tree they whereabouts of a bigleaf maple bottom field. Maybe it got so big so just passed. that had to be bigger than the fast that the cost of cutting it down “Wherever I am, I’m always existing titleholder. It turned out to was too much. The thing we fear looking at the trees. I’ve known be no tail-tree tale. At Jewell now is Dutch elm disease.” people who’ve nearly run off the Junction, Ore., beside the road in Big-tree hunters say that many road because their eyes were on plain view, is the new national champions, like the elm in Kansas, the trees,” said Oregon tree hunter champion-101 feet tall, 35 feet are found by chance. For this Drawson. around, 90 feet at the crown, reason, tree hunters never leave At 58, he has been stalking trees Growing in Cemeteries home without a long tape measure, a broomstick or its equivalent used to determine height--a notebook, a camera, love of trees, and sixth sense for spotting the biggest of a species. While driving along, even when in a hurry, they may suddenly slam on the brakes, turn around, and go back to put a tape measure 0 * t ''■-v. A for more than 20 years, written books about trees, and given talks about them. He has found at least six of the current national champions-one on an unusual tip from an inmate at the state penitentiary. Drawson was giving his stan dard big-tree talk to the prisoners when one said that he knew the Champion trees, generally older members of the species, are usually found in places where they have had tune enough and room enough to grow: old estate lands, national and state parks and forests, yards in older city neighborhoods, along fences, and in cemeteries. (Turn to Page B 12) s, # * « X' ''' y &yeA/-T> -V • ' *
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