I. Announcements

• Mourning the National Champs: American Elm and Hackberry
• Finding a Texas-sized Tree
• The Wye Oak’s New Desk Job
• Saguaro Touted As Arizona's Largest
• A Visit with Ted's Tree

II. What's Happening?

• American Forests Plants Memorial Trees In NYC
• IKEA Plants a Living Lesson
• No More Money to Support Endangered Habitats
• 2003 National Urban Forest Conference

III. Activities and Links

• American Forests' Feature Creature: The Giant Sequoia
• Tree Trivia
• Environmental News from ENS-news.com

Mourning the National Champs: American Elm and Hackberry

After a two-year struggle with Dutch Elm disease, the nation’s largest known American elm has died. American Forests declared the tree dead when it did not shown any signs of budding leaves in May. Located in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, the elm was diagnosed with the deadly Dutch Elm disease in 2001, a fungus spread by beetles that kills thousands of elm trees each year. For decades, the disease has been responsible for the death of most of America’s elm trees, making National Big Tree Champion elms even more elusive than ever before. The Michigan elm had been listed on American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees since 1998.

The National Champion hackberry broke in half after strong winds blew through Illinois on Mother's Day. The tree, which has been estimated at anywhere from 130 to 300 years old, was almost 21 feet around and 94 feet tall, and had grown two feet taller since it was nominated as champion by James Ream in 1995. At the advice of experts and tree-lovers, the owners, John and Carol Witt had cabled the tree's remaining limbs to try to save it after it lost several large branches three years ago.

The Witts' extended family had gathered at their home to celebrate Mother's Day.

"We heard a big groan and this big crack, and then boom! Down she came," Carol Witt said. "Poor old girl. She stood a lot of years."

The hackberry had reigned as the nation’s largest for 10 years.

American Forests has kept the National Register of Big Trees since 1940-- a listing of the 826 largest known native and naturalized species of trees in continental United States and Alaska. The Register relies on nominations from the public, and there are currently 99 species and six states without any big tree champs. Nomination forms and instructions can be downloaded from American Forests’ website, http://www.americanforests.org.

Do you know of a super-sized tree in your area? If so, American Forests (americanforests.org) wants to know about it before July 1, 2003, the deadline for nominations to American Forests’ 2004/2005 National Register of Big Trees. Check out the website for the complete list of 99 species without champs, where they’re from, and start hunting!

Finding a Texas-sized Tree

Imagine a tree as wide as a lane of traffic and taller than a three-story building. For decades, people--from good neighbors to biologists--have been on the big tree hunt, and every once in a while a real big one turns up. In Brazoria, Texas, federal wildlife biologist Michael Lange found a very big one. In fact, it's the largest live oak in Texas.

Thanks to two monster-sized live oaks in Louisiana and Georgia, the tree in Brazoria is dwarfed by comparison, and will not be listed on the National Register. But perhaps this proves just how difficult it is to find these gigantic trees. Lange, among many others, had been searching the state's coastal and bottomland forests for a live oak tree to dethrone the 43-foot-tall, 9-foot-wide giant, which held the title of the largest live oak in Texas since 1966—that’s 37 years of searching! In the case of the Brazoria live oak, the tree was likely nurtured on the nutrient-rich soils laid down in the forest each time the Brazos, San Bernard and Colorado rivers flooded. Other large oaks surrounding it probably protected it from being knocked down during a 1900 hurricane. The discovery of the new State Champion live oak accentuates the importance of caring for these rare trees on a local level. The Texas Forest Service coordinates the Big Tree Registry program in Texas, and the purpose of the program is not only to find the state's biggest trees, but to protect and preserve these specimens as landmarks for future generations to enjoy; to stimulate interest in and a greater appreciation of trees--their worth as an a natural resource and as individual specimens. Big trees are a part of Texas heritage. In the Lone Star state alone, there are 69 national champions, and is behind only Florida and California for the most oversized trees. Texas has 250 species of trees--35 of which are only found in state. But only 11 percent of the state is forested, and most of that is privately owned, making the search for big trees more difficult.

To read more about the Texas big tree champs, visit American Forests' website at http://www.americanforests.org or the Texas Forest Service at http://www.txforestservice.tamu.edu. You can also purchase a magazine quality National Register by calling 800/368-5748 or email us at info@amfor.org. Each Register is $7.00 and includes interesting stories, beautiful photos, and information about our nation’s biggest trees.

Texas is also the site of American Forests' 2003 Urban Forest Conference. To be held in San Antonio, the conference is only a few blocks from the National Champion Roemer Catclaw. To learn more about the San Antonio conference, visit http://www.americanforests.org/conference.

The Wye Oak’s New Desk Job

Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich may be spending some quality time with the state’s most famous big tree. The 460-year-old Wye Oak, which fell in a storm last year, may become a new desk for Ehrilich’s office, but not without some controversy. The $25,000 desk will be paid for with private funding and will be made from the tree’s limbs. However, critics say it goes against the recommendation of a committee formed to make plans for the tree’s wood. When the tree fell last summer and the initial report was issued, Democrat Parris N. Glendenning was governor. Now that Ehrlich, a Republican, took office, a new report was issued saying that a desk is not the best route for the Wye Oak wood. Some Maryland residents believe the wood should not be hidden away in the governor’s office, out of view of most Marylanders. The committee chairwoman said the desk would be "a cool thing," but it would be better to make something that more people would see, like a lectern for the governors’ news conferences.

According to a recent article published in The New York Times, Michael Slattery, assistant secretary of natural resources, said making a desk out of the state tree "is a grand idea," adding, “It’s a legacy to the people of Maryland.”

The Wye Oak was nearly 100 years old when the first settlers arrived in Maryland and was used by American Indians as an important landmark when traveling through the area. The tree was declared the Maryland state tree in 1941, only a year after it was listed as the National Campion White Oak on American Forests’ first National Register of Big Trees. Before the tree blew over in a June 2002 storm, the Wye Oak was 79 feet tall and its trunk was 32 feet in circumference.

The search is still on for the new National Champion white oak. Competition has been fierce to take the Wye Oak's place, but you can still send in your nominations until July 1.

Download a nomination form at http://americanforests.org/downloads/bigtrees/nomination_form.pdf

Saguaro Touted As Arizona's Largest

A recent Arizona Star article announced the discovery of the "Grand One"--the biggest saguaro cactus in Arizona. Unless a bigger one comes along, American Forests believes it is the largest in the nation.

Around the time Lewis and Clark set off to explore the West in 1804, "Grand One" was just a seedling near the Verde River. Today, it’s a 200 year-old cactus that has survived blistering hot summers, monster winds and occasional snow without a flinch.

It was December 2002 when Joe Pleggenkuhle, 65, and his grandson, Chris Seymour, 15, spotted the towering sentinel about a mile from Arizona’s Horseshoe Lake and the Verde River.

The two, from Phoenix, and another local cactus spotter, Chuck Hockaday, reported their finds independently to American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees. If the saguaro proves to be the biggest in the nation, it will be officially announced in 2004. "Only time will tell," says Karen Fedor, American Forests' Vice President of Global ReLeaf, who oversees the National Register of Big Trees. "Mums the word until 2004, anyway." Fedor, with the help of Big Tree Fellow, Pat Mannion, have been diligently working on the Register for 2004.

The Grand One, named by 15 year-old Seymour, is 46 feet high and 7 feet, 10 inches around at its base, with about 15 arms reaching skyward. Ken Morrow, the register's Arizona coordinator, estimates that the Grand One is as much as 180 years old. Pleggenkuhle, a retired Honeywell computer engineer who has spotted previous giants for the big tree record book, dates it at about 200 years.

In the article, Pleggenkuhle was quoted saying, "We didn't know it was that fat until we walked up to it." Pleggenkuhle was scouting for deer with Seymour when they spotted the saguaro.

Saguaros, known as cereus giganteus, are Arizona's signature cactus. These icons of the West grow only in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, southeastern California and northern Mexico.

Saguaros fall victim to fire and ice, with the latter the No. 1 killer, the park ranger said. Winds and electrical storms also topple the tall cactus, which weigh as much as 85 pounds per foot.

"Lightning strikes do happen when you're the tallest kid on the block," Collins said, adding that those strikes are like "blowing up a watermelon" because cactus are mostly water.

Some saguaros just wither with age and disease.

"They get older just like people and finally just break down," Collins said.

The former record giant was a 41-footer in Pinal County, Arizona.

A Visit with Ted's Tree

Older than the Declaration of Independence and the Jamestown colony, a Pacific madrone in Port Angeles, Washington, has become an important part of the community. A huge specimen of madrone, the tree takes 13 preschoolers to reach around its gigantic trunk. It's not the biggest pacific madrone, but it's the biggest tree in Port Angeles, Washington, and the biggest part of Virginia Serr's life.

"Ted's Tree," as the madrone in Port Angeles is now known, has many admirers and protectors, including the city, which carefully routed a new sidewalk around it, and James Causton, a Port Angeles arborist who calls himself the tree's baby-sitter. Causton began a rescue campaign for the tree in 1990 after an office building was built right next to it on an adjacent lot.

"We used to drive by it all the time, and he would often say he surely hoped no one would buy the lot and cut it down," she said.

Virginia Serr, without any hesitation, stepped in and bought the 7,000-square-foot commercial lot in 1999 for $57,000 in honor of her late husband and the tree’s namesake, Ted. With its generous boughs and leafy crown, the tree was always special to her husband, a dentist whose office was down the street. Today, Serr moves a sprinkler from spot to spot as she weeds around the tree during the summer months. “It’s kind of like having Ted around,” she said.

According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, the tree was measured in 1996 at 85 feet high with a 95-foot crown. The tree has been thriving ever since and is one of the largest madrones in Washington state. Most often found near saltwater, the madrone can be sinuous or massive, their bark is red, green or brown, their leaves glossy and evergreen. They are decorated with berries and blossoms, alive with birds, and often grow together in groups.

Today, Serr leaves the lot open for public enjoyment, and she has plans for a memorial plaque, and maybe a gazebo where people can sit and enjoy the gigantic tree. One thing's for certain: Ted's Tree is a rare find, an exception. Many urban madrones succumb to foot traffic or suffer from increased nitrate in the soils from growing a lawn or shady garden at its base. While many urban madrones are declining, this one remains glorious--even after 400 years.

American Forests has asked Bob Van Pelt, Washington state Big Tree Cordinator, to measure the tree again for the organization's records.

Each big tree, whether it is listed on the National Register or growing in your backyard, is a humongous example of nature's biggest and most precious creatures.

For more information about big trees or urban forests, visit our website at http://www.americanforests.org. or nominate your own big tree by clicking to http://americanforests.org/downloads/bigtrees/nomination_form.pdf

American Forests Plants Memorial Trees In NYC

On May 3, American Forests planted a tree with New York City Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe in Bronx's Van Courtland Park, to recognize the 1,450 other trees planted in the City of New York through out the Memorial Tree Groves Campaign.

An assortment of yoshino cherries, Mount Vernon red maples, tulip poplars, willow oaks, crabapples, sweetgums, sycamores, green ashes and franklinias -- were planted by New York City Parks and Recreation community groups to help restore and beautify the city's urban forest.

"We appreciate American Forests' support of New York's urban forestation projects," said New York City's Parks and Recreation commissioner, Adrian Benepe. "As they grow, these trees will serve as true living memorials to the heroes of the September 11 tragedies.

The tree planting was part of New York's "Green Day" celebration, which city representatives hope to make an annual event of tree planting throughout the city.

To find out more about American Forests' Memorial Tree Grove Campaign, please visit http://www.americanforests.org.

IKEA Plants a Living Lesson

It was not too long ago in 2000, when the third grade class of Plymouth Meeting Friends School--a small Quaker school in the outskirts of Philadelphia--heard that the trees on the grounds of the proposed new arts building would be cut down. The students, worried about the trees, wrote a letter to the school headmaster Anne Javsicas in protest. Now in the sixth grade, those same students are about to graduate as the class of 2003, and they finally have the trees they were promised in response to their concern.

On May 7, American Forests and IKEA helped 145 students plant 10 historic trees at Plymouth Meeting Friends School. The planting of an American Forests’ "Living Classroom" includes trees grown from the seeds of historically significant trees. American Forests instructed the students in proper planting techniques and oversaw the planting. "This is hard work," said one sixth-grader. "Yes, but it’s all worth it when the tree provides so many valuable benefits," replied Karen Fedor, American Forests’ vice president of Global ReLeaf.

As part of their effort to be a responsible community partner, IKEA donated the American Forests’ Living Classroom to Plymouth Meeting Friends School and rolled up their sleeves to pitch in with the planting too. IKEA’s Conshohocken store manager, Doug Smith and community relations representative, Kristen Naseel, participated in the tree planting with John Zurcher, from IKEA’s corporate office.

"IKEA believes it has a responsibility to help the environment and support our local communities across the US," says John Zurcher, social and environmental affairs manager of IKEA US. "This local tree planting at the Plymouth Meeting Friends School, with the support of American Forests, will help to educate our children about the important role trees play in our environment."

After the shoveling of soil was complete, the school had two Walden Wood Red Maples; two Betsy Ross Sycamores; two Gilbert Stuart Flowering Dogwoods; two Pearl S. Buck Crabapples; and, two George Washington Tulip Poplars. The trees will provide a buffer between the school buildings, not to mention spring flowering and fall color. American Forests’ Living Classroom will also include a custom granite marker for the site, lesson plans, a certificate of authenticity, and a video about historically significant trees called "Silent Witness."

"Plymouth Meeting Friends School has long emphasize stewardship and environmental responsibility in its curriculum, so it was natural for the school to participate with IKEA in American Forests’ Living Classroom program," said Plymouth Meeting Friends’ Head of School, Anne Javsicas.

Living Classrooms are more than just tree-planting projects for schools. Young minds grow with learning and experience. Trees grow with water and sunshine. Put both together and you have an American Forests’ Living Classroom--a unique way to teach children lessons in history, environmental education, science, geography, mathematics and arts. American Forests’ CITYgreen computer software is also included with every Living Classroom. Many teachers are using the GIS-based CITYgreen to teach the disciplines of math, science and geography to their students.

In March, American Forests completed a CITYgreen analysis of the tree cover in the Philadelphia area, and found that the area, including Plymouth Meeting, lacks at least 46 million trees. The entire study can be viewed at http://www.americanforests.org/resources/rea/

No More Money to Support Endangered Habitats

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service says it will temporarily stop designating tracts of land as critical habitats under the Endangered Species Act within a matter of weeks because the program has depleted its money for this fiscal year. At the same time, the agency said it would negotiate to move deadlines for designating certain areas as critical habitat.

In a recent New York Times article, Craig Manson, the assistant secretary of the Department of Interior said, "We are out of money, or will be in a few days."

Designations as critical habitat are defined as areas that "contain habitat features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species," and are required under the 1973 Endangered Species Act to curb development that may threaten those species.

While the program's $6 million budget is the same as last year's, the number of court-imposed deadlines has grown, leaving the agency about $2 million short of the money it needs to designate critical habitats for 33 species before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Mr. Manson said in the article.

According to the New York Times, some Democrats and environmental groups say the administration has willingly walked into this situation. The agency, they note, has not requested more money from Congress to continue financing the program after being told that it could not reapportion money from elsewhere.

In the article, John Sidel, an endangered species scientist for the Forest Service, said, "Designating critical habitat is a long, torturous process. In the past, people avoided it because they wanted to get species listed without getting dragged down by the critical habitat designation process."

But court orders have piled up because the law says critical habitat has to be designated at the time a species is listed as endangered-- a fact environmental groups have used to force designations. Of 1,250 species on the list, about 400 have designated critical habitats. Court cases have imposed a number of other species on the agency, which Mr. Manson says has created a backlog of cases that will take it through 2008.

"This is a sinking ship if they don't watch it," said Jamie Clark, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service in the Clinton years. "It is a very real problem. They have more court orders than they have money to deal with."

President Bill Clinton's interior secretary, Bruce Babbitt, asked Congress to impose budget restrictions on the critical habitat program to prevent it from cannibalizing all of the money for the Endangered Species Act, saying this was not the best use of those resources. Time-consuming, court-mandated critical habitat analyses were draining resources and scientists from other protections for endangered species, like listing additional species.

"Critical habitat designation--including the large number of listed species for which critical habitat has not been designated—is an issue that Congress needs to address,” says Gerry Gray, American Forests’ Vice President of Forest Policy. “Congress either needs to provide the funding to enable the Fish and Wildlife Service to address this backlog over a reasonable timeframe, or it needs to modify the policy on when and how critical habitat will be designated. American Forests believes that critical habitat needs to be protected for listed species. However, we also believe that over the long term, we need to move toward protecting the biological integrity of ecosystems rather than continuing to focus on individual species."

2003 National Urban Forest Conference

Green Infrastructure--our trees, soils, water, air and other natural resources provide valuable ecological, social and economic benefits to our cities, which can be dominated by gray infrastructure—its buildings, roads, and utilities. How do we better balance our gray infrastructure with the green? These topics are featured at American Forests’ Engineering Green conference, September 17-20 in San Antonio, Texas. Learn how public perceptions, economic incentives and federal regulations for clean air and water can all drive communities to build more green into their cities. Here are some highlights:

Designing Green Infrastructure
Creative and effective urban forest design can cool urban heat islands, restore river ecosystems, prevent crime, and boost human capability and comfort. Hear how a civil engineer, a biology professor, a social science researcher, and a community forestry coordinator have made this a reality.

Economic Incentives that Drive Green Infrastructure
Tying urban trees to direct economic markets that show trees as municipal assets, may be one of the best strategies for conserving our green infrastructure.

Regulations that Drive Green Infrastructure
Learn how to implement or strengthen existing ordinances, regulations, and codes to improve water quality.

Institutionalizing Green Infrastructure
How do we change community mindset to integrate green into our city's urban infrastructure? One step at a time! See how communities are turning the tide with examples from around the country.

Don’t miss the early registration deadline. Register by July 15 and save $50. Visit our website for full program and registration details: http://www.americanforests.org.

American Forests' Feature Creature: The Giant Sequoia

The Giant Sequoia "General Sherman" is the largest living thing on the planet.

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), or "King of Trees" as it is often called, is the largest and one of the oldest of living organisms. While taller trees do exist--including its closest of kin, the coast redwood--no species of tree matches its girth, and only a few species of any type manage to survive longer than these colossal giants. While the oldest accurate account of the age for a giant sequoia is 3,200 years, it is suspected that specimens have survived for as long as 5,000 years.

Today giant sequoia grows in only 75 scattered groves in California, where it earns its name as "the sentinal of the Sierra." These groves exist in a 260-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada mountains, typically from 4,500 to 8,000 feet in elevation. In total there are only 35,600 acres of forest where giant sequoias make their home. The lack of evidence of these trees elsewhere in the Sierra suggest that the distribution of the big trees has been relatively unchanged since the most recent retreat of the glaciers. Fortunately most of the giant sequoia groves are now protected on both public and private land, hopefully assuring their permanence in their delicate mountain ecosystem.

Most older giant sequoias average between 20 and 25 feet in diameter, and between 250 and 280 feet in height. Some of the most ancient trees, though, have attained heights of more than 300 feet and diameters of more than 35 feet. Several of the most spectacular trees have even been named. These include the "General Grant," the "Grizzly Giant," and perhaps the most massive and famous of all, the "General Sherman" tree in Sequoia National Park.

The General Sherman is 28 feet thick at shoulder height. The first branch of the tree is more than seven feet in diameter, and the tree itself towers to a height of 275 feet. It's estimated that the General Sherman weighs more than 1,400 tons. That's more than 300 elephants! The General Sherman giant sequoia in California is the world’s largest living thing.

While not all giant sequoias are as famous as the General Sherman, a walk through any of the big tree groves will make all other trees, as well as yourself, seem miniature by comparison. The impressive specimen is one of three trees that have remained on American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees since it began in 1940. The others are a Rocky Mountain juniper, called "Jardine Juniper," in Utah’s Cache National Forest; and the Western juniper, or "Bennett Juniper," in California’s Stanislaus National Forest.

To learn more about American Forests' National Register of Big Trees, visit http://www.americanforests.org.

Question: What species of tree holds the title of the smallest big tree? Here's a hint--the answer can be found at The National Register of Big Trees:
A) corkwood
B) pacific madrone
C) ecalyptus
D) hackberry

If you answer correctly, you will be automatically included in the June drawing to win a tree! One lucky winner will receive a Historic Tree (species depends on your local climate) from American Forests' Historic Tree Nursery.

Fun Fact: Some big trees have larger-than-life owners. Before it was dethroned in 2002, the nation’s largest blue gum eucalyptus was owned and cared for by none other than actor, Clint Eastwood.

Answer to the May question:
What was the name and age of the oldest tree ever recorded? a) Sasqwatch, 4,500 + b) Joshua Tree, 6,800 + c) Prometheus, 4,950 + d) Pegasus, 4,800 +

Prometheus, 4,950 +.
May's drawing winner is Katie Allwander!

You can do your part to help the environment today by joining American Forests. Not only are 25 trees planted for you in a damaged ecosystem or forest restoration project, but you will also receive:

• A free subscription to our quarterly magazine
• A free Big Trees calendar
• A window decal

Join Today! Visit http://www.americanforests.org/

Don't forget to forward this information to friends or colleagues.

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