Good questions.
--
Carolyn Summers
63 Ferndale Drive
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706
914-478-5712
> From: x <[email protected]>
> Reply-To: <[email protected]>
> Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:12:57 -0500
> To: <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: [ENTS] Re: Montpelier in images
>
> so hideous they cut so much down and had planned to cut it all down??
>
> why?????????
>
> not a few little fly specks can be left without the meddling and ruination
> of man??
> everything needs the hand of man and has to be cropped and managed??
>
> why is it the all of the most spectacular stands are the ones least or never
> touched?
>
> the timber men there just have to have one more great stand to cut they
> can't stand to let some last little bits escape???
> can't even let stuff stand in parks???
>
> why is the old forest any less historic than the buildings are?? how does
> creating a clearcut make the property more historic??
>
> why is it that the 'over-mature', 'decaying', 'decadent', 'over-ripe',
> 'clearly in the early stages of major decline' parcels called such in the
> late 1800's and very early 1900's in the adirondacks somehow magically still
> have the best timber and most impressive forest over a hundred years later
> now and the spots they did cut look weak and decayed and feeble????
>
> why did the first settlers leave accounts of the meeting up with the most
> astonishing forests if a forest can only be healthy and strong when forestry
> practice are put into place???
>
> anyway thank David Tice you helped save the 200 acre patch, great work
> it's just stunning to think anyone needed to make an effort to save it
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "ranger dan" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 4:04 PM
> To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]>
> Subject: [ENTS] Re: Montpelier in images
>
>> 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
>>
>
>
>
>> --
>> 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
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>>
