ENTS, Glad to see some exposure about the Montpeilier forest. In the early 1980's, Dave Tice was a consultant for the timber management to be done on the farm. I spoke with him before his death about the forest, which he said showed no evidence of timber harvest since the time of James Madison. The Trust for Historic Preservation at the time wanted to cut down the 200-acre area now set aside as the Landmark Forest, but thanks to his recognition of this area as special, and with help from the Nature Conservancy, it is now saved. Unfortunately, there was much more forest like this that was destroyed following my first visit.
There are remnant trees worthy of note outside the 200-acre preserve, for those of you wanting to explore: From the trailhead into the forest, to the right, across the field and across a gravel road, at the foot of Chicken Mountain, is a row of huge tuliptrees along what used to be the edge of the woods. Far to the left of the trailhead, across a field and fences, there is a row of fine tuliptrees at the edge of the woods. This is a buffer that was left after logging in the 1980's destroyed a forest "as significant as the Landmark Forest", according to an employee of the estate. I never saw it, but there is some mature forest remaining behind this row of ancient trees. Probably the finest stand of trees on the estate is not far to the left of the trailhead, off-trail and near the edge of the forest. Near here is a giant forest-grown white oak, probably the largest I have ever seen. When I first saw it, it was marked with blue paint (to cut). I expressed my alarm to Tice, who may have been responsible for having this area spared. It was still standing at my last visit a few years ago, close to 5'dbh. For big trees, Montpelier is probably the finest remaining example of old-growth forest in the entire Piedmont region, and beyond. Dan Miles On Jan 1, 9:12 pm, [email protected] wrote: > ENTS, > > I just finished downloading images from Montpelier. I didn't take many > photos, but did manage to capture a little of the place. Descriptions of 6 > images follow. I'll later send another email with a few more images. > > DESCRIPTIONS > > Montpelier.jpg: This is the front of the James Madison home. Montpelier is > where our Constitution was drafted. The Madison property covers 2,650 acres. > The Landmark forest covers about 200. > > MontpelierLawn.jpg: This image looks west toward the Blue Ridge from the > front of Montpelier. The field you see in the foreground was once a tobacco > field. The Skyline Drive runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge on the > horizon. > > MonicaAndTulip.jpg: This is an image of one of many large tuliptrees you see > in the Landmark Forest, as it is called. It was freaking cold throughout the > period and I didn't document the trees nearly as well as I otherwise would > have. Oh well, I guess Monica and I will have to return. > > Tulipartistry.jpg: This image looks into the crowns of 150+ foot tuliptrees. > There are many tuliptrees with girths between 12 and 15 feet. The largest I > measured was an open-grown specimen that measured 17.4 feet around. It was > about 120 feet tall. > > IntoTheCrowns.jpg: This is perhaps a better shot into the crowns of these > very tall, picturesque trees. At Montpelier, the lordly Tuliptree reins > unchallenged. ENTS needs to document the groves much better. I hope to start > the process more formally when I contact the chief horticulturist. > > JamesMadisonTree-1.jpg: The James Madison tree is the one in the center. > After a fierce struggle, we subdued this great tree and confirmed its height > at 166.1 feet. It is a most respectable 13.8-foot around. I am not sure I > found the top of the tree. I am reasonably sure that the 166.1 spot is within > +/- 0.5 feet. Three measurements produced 166.1, 166.1, and 166.5. There are > three 160-footers fairly close together, of which the Madison tree is the > tallest. The other two are each around 161 feet tall. One is 14.8 feet around > and the other 14.0 feet. Over the entire property, I suspect that there are > seven or possibly even eight 160-footers and probably twenty to twenty-four > 150-footers. > > Bob > > Montpelier.jpg > 396KViewDownload > > MontpelierLawn.jpg > 268KViewDownload > > MonicaAndTulip.jpg > 619KViewDownload > > Tuliprtistry.jpg > 714KViewDownload > > IntoTheCrowns.jpg > 702KViewDownload > > JamesMadisonTree-1.jpg > 854KViewDownload
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