Great rendezvous   dbhg-@comcast.net
  Oct 24, 2004 18:40 PDT 
ENTS:

    The climb of the splendid Henry David Thoreau pine in Monroe State Forest went off today without a hitch. Climbers were Bob Van Pelt, Will Blozan, and Ed Coyle. The tree was taped. Its official height is 160.8 feet. It's girth is 12.5 feet. It is one heck of a tree.
    Lots more to come.


Bob

   

Thoreau Pine Climb Gallery
RE: Great rendezvous   Dale J. Luthringer
  Oct 25, 2004 13:53 PDT 
Bob & Gary,

Thank-you for hosting another superb event and for giving me the
opportunity to present on Cook Forest. The hikes and exploration of
MTSF and MSF were great. MTSF really is a super site. The history in
the area is enough to make it special, let alone the old and majestic
trees. Bob, your hospitality was legendary. The whole event was an
incredible opportunity to soak up information from those who have been
studying various ecological parameters for years. My brain is still
smokin'!

Dale


RE: Great rendezvous   enviro--@nativenewsonline.org
  Oct 25, 2004 18:52 PDT 

You and me, both, Dale. i am absolutely amazed at the strength of this list and the spirit which energized this entire forest summit. i was glad to have been a small part. Not to mention..<g> still surprised i lasted through those hikes which seemed primarily to be uphill..
Warmly,
Ish


RE: Great rendezvous   Robert Leverett
  Oct 26, 2004 05:08 PDT 

Hi Ish:

Yep, it seems that no matter where the target tree is, it is in the
uphill direction.

Yes, the forest summit and ENTS rendezvous reflected the spirit that
we individually feel. It was one heck of an event. But alas, it
officially ended about 3/4ths of hour ago when I dropped Bob Van Pelt
off at the airport and I don't mind admitting, I now feel a little lost.
However, the memories will linger. What an absolutely wonderful
experience and to have so many of you staying at my house. If it could
have been any better, darned if I could think of a way.

The climb on Sunday by Will Blozan, Bob Van Pelt, and Ed Coyle was
historic is some respects. It was a climb of New England's only known
member of the elite 12 x 160 club. Yes, the Henry David Thoreau pine is
the lone member of that club. BVP recalculated its height at 160.2 feet
and its girth properly determined at mid-slope at 12.3 feet. So the
Thoreau pine in Monroe State Forest enters the record books as our only
member of the exclusive 12 x 160 club. Our less exclusive 12 x 150 club
has three New England members.

My good buddy Will Blozan also added handsomely to the tall tree list.
He confirmed three new state records: a black cherry, a yellow birch,
and a mockernut hickory. The black cherry and the yellow birch are both
in the Trout Brook area of MTSF. The cherry is 7.2 x 125.4 and the
yellow birch is 6.8 x 102.9. The mockert nut is on Mt. Tom State
Reservation and is a modest 4.1 x 87.3.

Will also remeasured the crumbling sugar maple champion at 11.4 x
133.1 feet. The Rucker Index for MTSF now stands at 134.4. I suspect
that in time it will fall into the mid 133s where it will likely stay.
Will found a 10.3 x 132.0 sugar maple in Trout Brook that stands to take
over as the champion if the 133-footer falls. Will also confirmed a new
6.8 x 143.5 white ash at the base of Todd Mtn. That is one sweet tree.

In William Cullen Bryant, we re-measured the Bryant pine to 10.3 x
156.7 feet and Will confirmed a new 150. It is the Jack Sobon pine at
8.4 x 153.0.

So, Will's keen eye came in very handy and energized me to continue
looking for tree champs within Mohawk. We're not quite done yet.

One really fine surprise was Lee Frelich's surprise visit. He came
rolling in with Tom Diggins. Now that was WAY COOL. It is always a treat
to see Lee and here his extremely important interpretations.

Not to leave anyone out, Dale Luthringer, Howard Stoner, and John
Eichholz helped scour for new tree champs.

Yes, it was sweet. More on the event in the next e-mail. Lots more to
relate.

Bob
A New List. 12 x 160 and other thoughts   Robert Leverett
  Oct 26, 2004 11:09 PDT 

ENTS:

   Courtesy of Will's, Bob's, and Ed's Sunday climb, the Thoreau pine in
Monroe State Forest takes its position at the top of the list as
Massachusetts's only pine with combined dimensions of a 12-foot or
greater circumference and a 160-foot or greater height. However, as
impressive as the Thoreau pine is our job is not yet complete. Bob Van
Pelt believes (with ample justification) that the huge Cornplanter pine
in Anders Run, PA that Dale measured is larger. I would imagine its
trunk and limb volume exceeds 1250 cubic feet. Perhaps that great tree
will be the target of a future climb by the intrepid ENTS climbers. Then
there is the 14.2-foot x 150.1-foot Tamworth pine in New Hampshire's
Hemmenway State Park - measured courtesy of Lee Frelich and yours truly
in September. I suspect the Tamworth pine pushes 1350 cubic feet. Then
there is the Adirondack giant in the Elders Grove near Paul Smith
college that Howard measured. Maybe that one also can be the target of a
future climb.

   One thing seems certain. The ENTS climbers are single-handedly
putting these eastern forest giants on the map and the ENTS webmaster Ed
Frank is putting them out into cyberspace. As BVP would say, ENTS rules.
As for me, hey, I just think it is WAY COOL.

   The one sure thing seems to be that the halcyon days of ENTS have
only just begun. As I looked around my living room and kitchen on
Saturday evening, I marveled at the brain trust before me and the
dedication I saw. Ishgooda, my wife's Native American sister, was keenly
aware of what she was seeing and hearing. Ish has a way of cutting
through to the core as her final presentation on Friday evening did. She
was both eloquent and right on the mark. In an earlier e-mail, Ish put
the event and its special energy into proper perspective as she so often
does.

   Throughout the period of Wednesday through this morning, but
especially on Saturday evening, I could only imagine what my dear wife
might be sensing from beyond the veil. Jani had been an integral part of
the ENTS spirit and in the evenings at 52 Fairfield Ave. there it was.
It was happening in her living room. Her words echoed in my ears. We
talked so often about being blessed and privileged to host so many
wonderful people, to be part of such worthy causes.

   This past ENTS gathering has given me much for which I can feel
deeply thankful and forever humbled. Thank you all. Thank you all so
much. Jani's spirit truly lives on.     

Bob
HCC/ENTS Forest Summit Lecture Series   Gary A. Beluzo
  Oct 30, 2004 09:35 PDT 

Greetings ENTS!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank a score of individuals for the
success of the HCC/ENTS FOREST SUMMIT 2 this past week.

First of all, Bob Leverett, the co-architect of the Forest Summit Lecture
Series, whose unswerving enthusiasm and dedication for bringing programs
like this to the public is legendary, deserves a special thanks. As I
mentioned during the Summit, without Bob Leverett there would be no programs
like this one. Bob has an uncanny ability :-) to involve all of us in the
preservation and education of significant trees and the special places.

Our speaker lineup was again truly awesome! The amount of time and effort
that all of the speakers donated to getting to Massachusetts and spending
several days with us day and evening demonstrates the dedication that each
has to promoting the agenda of ENTS and bringing programs to the public. My
most heartfelt thanks to Bob Van Pelt, Will Blozan, Tom Diggins, Dale
Luthringer, and Ishgooda for making this second summit a resounding success.

Bob Leverett and I are already brainstorming for the next HCC/ENTS FOREST
SUMMIT which will most likely be held next Fall. We plan to bring together
state foresters, professional foresters, forest scientists, loggers, and
environmentalists to discuss forest management and the fate of the Eastern
forest. I will continue to revise our website
http://www.hcc.mass.edu/html/bottombarlinks/env_sci_conf/index.html to make
avaialble resources associated with the Summit and reflect our planning.

Gary

Gary A. Beluzo
Professor of Environmental Science
Holyoke Community College
303 Homestead Avenue
Holyoke, MA 01040