Barry,
Very nice pictures, but I simply do not believe the story as is told in the
video. It is, in my opinion, revisionist history - a fairy tale. It is
difficult to core bristlecone pine because of their size. The pith of the tree
is not usually at the center of the wood mass and it has an irregular
structure that also complicates the process. He tried and failed to get useful
results for this tree prior to cutting it down. So coring may not have been a
viable option in this case. Dr. Currey received all of the permits and
permissions required to collect a sample tree. He chose one specimen that
looked old, among many in the region that looked to be similarly old. Likely
he chose what was the oldest looking in the immediate area. The tree had very
little live growth on it. So he cut it down as part of a larger study. It was
only afterwards that anyone claimed to have opposed cutting the tree down, I
think to make themselves part of a heroic fantasy. It was a shame this tree
was cut, but who knows if another one was chosen it might have been even older.
The furor this unintentionally stirred up led to the preservation of the
entire grove in Great Basin National Park. So in the end likely more
bristlecones, and older bristlecones were preserved because of this one being
cut down. This is the version I believe to be true.
Ed Frank
"Oh, I call myself a scientist. I wear a white coat and probe a monkey every
now and then, but if I put monetary gain ahead of preserving nature...I
couldn't live with myself." - Professor Hubert Farnsworth
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry Caselli
To: ENTS
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 4:56 PM
Subject: [ENTS] Bristlecone Pines on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD-yojX5iEk
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