Don,
Let's see what Laura says. She has an advantage. She saw the whole tree. But were I in your shoes, I'd be feeling pretty comfortable. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "DON BERTOLETTE" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, August 1, 2009 2:00:30 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: [WNTS] Re: Leverett photo on San Juan www..... Bob- Tantalizer! It's a trap! Well there are some cues that aren't hidden...the exposed root system is extensive, and they are individually rather large, and appear to have adapted to at least one disturbing event...Monica seems dwarfed by it, but we're only seeing the buttressing part of the base...the bark characteristics I can see are fairly large plates, with fairly deep furrows...by bark color alone, I'd almost think it could be a ponderosa/jeffrey pine hybrid, but would want to see its cones, and needles (I am thinking that it'd be outside of jeffrey pine range, but for the elevation). I'd say in between 275 - 350 years, with perilous little information. -Don Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2009 07:41:33 +0000 From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [ENTS] Re: [WNTS] Re: Leverett photo on San Juan www..... Don, Soooooooopa! Late June or early July will work fine for Monica and me. I think ENTS Pres. Will Blozan is on board for that time period. If I recall, Larry said he could attend. So, let's see. So far we have: Don Bertolette (WNTS Pres.) Dr. Don Bragg (hopefully) Laura Stransky (on-site WNTS rep) Will Blozan (ENTS Pres.) Larry Tucei Jr (LOL Larry - that's Live Oak Larry) Tumbleweed Bob (the official mouth of ENTS and WNTS) It's a start. But somehow we have to convince Dr. Lee Frelich that he has to meet his 154-foot tall, 9.1-foot girth ponderosa pine on Hermosa Creek. He's been quiet as a church mouse on Durango. They love you in Durango, Lee. They know all about you. Honest. Then there is superstar Dr. obert Van Pelt. Bob must return and reclaim his formerly held status as the measurer of the tallest Colorado blue on the planet. As of this moment, I'm told the record is held by some suave, debonaire slow-talking, handsome southern fellow. Any body know who that might be? Of course, if Don Bragg makes it, we'll need to visit his tree, a 118-foot tall Englemann spruce growing at 11,180 feet altitude. That's the current height record for 11,000 feet and above within the Rockies. Oh yes, Ed, you must come. You have to explain the fascinating geology we'll be treated to. So there you have it folks. The event is on. Don't miss it. Come one. Come all. We'll have wild rides, spirited beverages, tall trees, dancing bears, sword-swallowing midgets......... We'll all get "spruced up" ........ Oooh, too bad even for me. Hey, we need some original bad western tree puns for WNTS. My bad eastern collection won't do. So, I'll start the ball rolling. Which species can bend down and touch its roots? You all say, ho hum, yes Bob - limber pine. Oooh. Gotta go back to bed It's 3:30AM. I'll close with a tantalizer - the image of a very old ponderosa on the Lower Hermosa Creek Trail. Quick Don and Laura. How old? Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "DON BERTOLETTE" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, August 1, 2009 2:15:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: [WNTS] Re: Leverett photo on San Juan www..... Bob- Your enthusiasm has always been catching! I'm for it...with a constraint or two. We will be moving to Yellowknife in July (no date set, but the further into July we get, the more into Yellowjacket I'll need to be) for Rhonda's planned sabattical/post doc. I'd probably have to fly down, as our car will be loaded for Yellowknife. I have passed through Durango, and if memory serves me there's a brewpub (a block south and west from where the highway makes a right hand turn to the north, in old town...;>) with old time western charm. I say WNTS Rendezvous or Bust, late June or early July! -Don (Know anybody that wants to house sit our place in Anchorage next summer/fall?) Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:43:49 +0000 From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [ENTS] Re: [WNTS] Re: Leverett photo on San Juan www..... Don, Will, Laura, and I are in the preliminary thinking stages of organizing a big tree rendezvous in Durango for next July. We're going to settle for a rendezvous instead of a full-fledged conference, due to time constraints, money, etc. The summer of 2011 would then see a full conference. In my humble opinion, the rendezvous should be spearheaded by WNTS. We could assemble a measuring team and hit as many sites as possible during a 3 to 4-day stint and prepare a report to the Forest Service on our findings. Laura would choose the sites. The rendezvous would really be a joint WNTS-Forest Service venture. Will is interested in climbing and modeling a big ponderosa while there. We could have lots of evening slide shows and maybe a couple of presentations for WNTS attendees and guests - just fun stuff. Will could show his climb to the top of the 311-ft sequoia. If Dave Stahle makes it, maybe we would hopefully persuade him to give a presentation on aging junipers. The rendezvous would be all for the relatively small group of measurers (6 to 12)and guests. No big preparations necessary. Just hit the field and measure trees. While there, I'm sure you would want to sample the local beers. Maybe you already have. Didn't you tell me that you'd been to Durango and rode the Durango to Silverton RR? I presume you had a frosted glass with a spirited beverage in it. With my allergy to alcohol, I'd have to settle for bright colored Cool Aid-like drinks, but I'd pretend that they had alcohol in them and act I little daffy after a couple of hours. Wait. That happens anyway. Those with sporting blood could place bets on how long it would take Will to break my height records for the ponderosa and Colorado blue spruce. Will does that sort of thing with grim regularity. Oh, is it embarrassing, but his eye is unfailingly accurate and I've come to be fatalistic about the whole thing. We could also have a little ceremony and crown Dave Stahle, Lord of the Rings, also the ruler of Western Earth position for Middle Earth is taken). Laura, since you are the on-site Ent, we would appoint you official keeper of the sacred numbers that we collected - a position of the greatest trust. Well, what do you say, Don? Let's make Durango our first official WNTS rendezvous. YEA! Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "DON BERTOLETTE" <[email protected]> To: "Western Native Tree Society" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 6:01:34 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [WNTS] Re: Leverett photo on San Juan www..... Laura- Thanks for proof positive (pun intended) that Bob has an intuitive sense of good photography! Of course what the photo really shows is good land management! -Don To: [email protected] Subject: [WNTS] Leverett photo on San Juan www..... From: [email protected] Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:38:29 -0600 Check out one of Bob Leverett's photos on this website belonging to the San Juan National Forest! http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan/passes/ Thank you, Bob, for the use of this beautiful scene in the LaPlata Mountains. The light & angle of the sun are really exquisite. Laura *********************************************** Laura Stransky, US Forest Service 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO 81301 Phone: 970-385-1216 e-mail: [email protected] ***********************************************</font Windows Live™ Hotmail®: Search, add, and share the web’s latest sports videos. Check it out. Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. Try Bing™ now. Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. Try Bing™ now. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
