Andrew- Taking a page from A Sand County Almanac, where Aldo admonishes us to "think like a mountain", if we were to think like a logger a century or two ago, we'd be thinking about a winter logging operation, going into a valley where we could, and plucking out a hickory or an oak, depending on what species the market was seeking, and pulling it out by horse or mule, or oxen on a sled. The technology for getting trees further up the slopes was yet to come...
-Don > Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:23:16 -0500 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Meet the Neil Pederson Pine > > It's so interesting that the tallest Dunbar Brook pines are up on the > slopes and not in the bottom along the creek. I would've thought it > would be the other way around. Perhaps there is a sweet spot between > being too high on the slope and suffering wind damage but still being > high enough to get more sunlight as opposed to the pines in shadow down > in the bottom by the brook. Thoreau and Grandfather pines might be > demonstrating that principle, both on the slope, the Grandfather higher > up, the upper crown is more sparse (limb break out) and not as tall as > Thoreau despite appearing to have equivalent age or maybe even being an > older tree than Thoreau. > > Something else to consider is that we're only looking at a 100+ year > cycle, it may be that the pines in the bottom of the cove are turtles in > the race, if they keep going for another 100 years undisturbed maybe > some become the mythical plus 200 ft. trees, while the Thoreaus and the > Grandfather pines max out due to greater exposure to extreme wind events > over time up on the slope > -Andrew > > [email protected] wrote: > > > ENTS, > > > > Yesterday Monica and I went to Monroe State Forest on a specific > > mission. On a couple of previous trips, about 15 minutes up the trail > > from the trailhead, I had observed a white pine high on the south > > facing slopes across Dunbar Brook. Most of the year, the pine cannot > > be seen. The forest in the foreground is dense, the brook below the > > trail is mesmerizing, and one must watch one's footing. Consequently, > > the pine is obscured from sight most of the year. When we were in > > Monroe State Forest on Monday, I happened to look across the brook at > > just the right spot and realized that I needed to see this pine up > > close and personal. Around 9:00AM yesterday, I sheepishly approached > > Monica about tracking down the pine as the day's mission. Although she > > needed to practice for upcoming concerts, being the perfect wife, she > > relented and off we went. > > > > To cut to the chase, the pine is on the south facing ridges of Dunbar > > Brook. Sheep pasturing was an economic mainstay of that location in > > the more distant past, and more recently, the area experienced > > logging. The ridge is recovering from those past activities and to an > > extent and shows promise, but compared to the north-facing slopes is > > not inspiring. On the slopes, the white ashes reach to between 100 > > and 110 feet. The sugar maples reach to between 90 and 100. White > > birches reach to 85 feet at most. The only tall trees are close to > > Dunbar Brook. The hardwoods on the slopes are nothing to get excited > > about. But then there are the pines. They too are on the short side. > > Almost all are between 115 and 125 feet. Only two brush 130 feet. Then > > there is the mystery pine. > > > > Upon reaching the tree, it revealed itself to be modest in size. Its > > girth is 9.9 feet, exactly matching another pine farther down the > > slopes. IBut several other pines are larger, including one that is > > 11.7 feet in girth. It did look pretty tall. I finally settled on > > 144.1 feet. That is significant. It becomes the 5th tallest tree in > > the Dunbar watershed and the northern most 140 in Massachusetts. Its > > trunk volume is approximately 400 cubic feet. I thought to myself, > > "this fine tree deserves a name." My Kentucky friend Dr. Neil Pederson > > came to mind and so it was. It became the Pederson Pine. > > > > The first two of the attached images show Neil's pine. The first shot > > is up close with Monica in the image for scale. The second is through > > the peep hole on the other side of Dunbar Brook. Neil's pine is the > > one with dark green foliage. The 3rd image is of a handsome pine lower > > on the ridge. - a 129.5-footer. > > > > The confirmation of the Pederson Pine rekindled my memory of the > > mission that Jack Sobon and I undertook years ago to locate and > > measure all 140-foot white pines in Massachusetts. That mission continues. > > > > Bob > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > 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] > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > -- > 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] _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141665/direct/01/ -- 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]
