ENTS,
Today the weather gods presented me with the blessing of picture-perfect
weather, so it was off to MTSF I went to continue the update of my Mohawk
database. First on the schedule was a remeasurement of the John Brown Tree in
the Trees of Peace. Brown is a Narragansett Chief living in Rhode Island. He
has visited Mohawk before and participated in ceremony. I had measured John's
tree a couple of months back and got 159.8 feet. However, the intervening
foliage of birches prevented me from fully seeing the left most upper twigs of
the John Brown Tree. With leaves gone, the laser could see those upper twigs. I
used my Nikon Prostaff 550. After all was said and done, John's latest
measurment is 160.1 feet. The tree's girth is 8.1 feet. So, the John Brown tree
enters the exclusive club of 160s, becoming the 9th 160-footer Mohawk.
Regrettably, there are no other contenders that I know of that will make it
into the club next season. It will take at least a couple of years to add anoth
er tree, maybe three years.
I also remeasured the Joe Norton Tree, the Algonquin Pine, and the Frank
Decontie Tree, all current 160s. All three grew substantially this year, and
today with the deciduous trees finally having shed most of their leaves, I
could see the tops of the pines to get good measurements. The current list of
MTSF 160s stands as follows.
MTSF List of trees 160 feet or more in height
HeightGirthENTS PtsDOMLocationTreeName
169.410.51778.89/7/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Trees of PeaceJake Swamp Tree
164.911.61912.69/18/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Clark Ridge-EldersSaheda
164.89.61582.410/24/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Trees of PeaceJoe Norton Tree
163.111.81924.99/18/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Clark Ridge-EldersTecumseh
162.88.91449.210/24/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Algonquin PinesAlgonquin Tree
160.910.31657.810/24/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Algonquin PinesFrank Decontie
160.48.51363.43/13/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Encampment PinesLee Frelich Pine
160.211.11778.810/17/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Clark Ridge-Shunpike AreaBrant Pine
160.18.11297.110/24/08MA-Charlemont-MTSF-Trees of PeaceJohn Brown Tree
Monore SF has a lone 160-footer, the Thoreau Pine, which rounds out the
ten 160-footers in Massachusetts. New Hampshire probably has around 10 also,
although so far we have not confirmed that many. There are likely no other 160s
in New England.
Prior to 1989, Connecticut had some 160s in the Cathedral Pines Stand, a
TNC property. However, in July 1989, a damned microburst leveled the stand,
destroying New England'd white pine icon. Since the MTSF has assumed that role,
although with less fanfare despite the data I supply to DCR. I'm just as happy,
since I don't want to see Mohawk's legacy of great pines become too popular,
and at this point, there is not a lot of danger in that happening. .
Other tree measurments included:
(1) a splendid hemlock with dimensions (10.5 ft in girth, 121.3 ft in
height)
(2) the Northern Sentinel Pines: (10.0 ft in girth, 135.9 ft in height)
and (10.3 ft in girth, 138.7 ft in height)
(3) Mast Pine #1: (9.0 ft in girth, 155.9 ft in height)
(4) Sandy Hill Pine: (9.5 ft in girth, 144.7 ft in height).
When I began tracking the Sandy Hill Pine in the year 2000, it was around
132 feet in height. It has grown almost 13 feet in 8 years. However, its
increase in girth has been modest (9.2 to 9.5 ft). Other pines show fast growth
in bothe height and girth.
The update of the Mohawk database is going to be a labor-intensive
effort. I am hoping that Will Blozan can help me a bit when he arrives next
week. There are maples and ashes to remeasure and new trees to discover in the
forest icon of Massachusetts.
Bob
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