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ENTS,
Today Monica and I braved thunderstorms and endured near 100%
humidity when we returned to Dunbar Brook in Monroe State Forest.
First order of the day was to retrieve my D-Tape. I had stuck it in
a crack in a large bigtooth aspen to provide perspective in the
image I took of the trunk. I then walked away from the tree, leaving
my D-Tape behind. Duh! Well, this time in addition to retrieving the
D-Tape, I got a better measure of it the aspen's height. I am
pleased to report that it is a solid 107.0 feet tall. What are its
statistics? Its girth = 8.0 feet, its height = 107.0 feet, and its
average crown spread = 28 feet. That gives the bigtooth 210 big tree
points. Not bad. But without further comment, I'll get to the five
new images of this extraordinary stream and forest.
Image#1-PoolAndForest.jpg: Dunbar Brook is noted for its large
rocks and limpid pools. This deep woods spot is located upstream
beyond the Adirondack hut. Many favored Massachusetts stream sites
feature an idyllic spot or two, but often 100 feet beyond the spot,
the forest setting becomes undistinguished. Not so with Dunbar.
Beyond the stream banks giants lurk. The surrounding forest is
superlative by every measure.
Image#2-DunbarTwins.jpg: Here is an example of a couple of those
lurking giants. Dunbar has a number of massive pines, many are
nameless. I am now calling these to beautiful pines the Dunbar
Twins. I also measured two pines with diameters of 42 and 43 inches
respectively that I had previously bypassed. I will eventually get
down to business and measure and map all the big ones in the
watershed.
Image#3-TheGreen2.jpg: Along Dunbar, you are never far from a
scene like the one in image #3. Dunbar may well be the most
photogenic stream in all Massachusetts. I can name some strong
competitors, but none that clearly surpass Dunbar.
Image#4-OGHemlockAndSpruce1.jpg: There is an old growth hemlock
and red spruce stand near the confluence of Parsonage and Dunbar
Brooks. The stand is awash in regeneration - so much that it is hard
to account for. I think there might have been a blowdown at the site
around 140 years ago and a new forest has grown back on the logs.
Tad Zebryk and I dated trees in the stand back in 1989. There were a
lot in the 130 to 160-year age range. But there are also trees that
are far older. In our old-growth survey, Peter Dunwiddie and I dated
one hemlock to around 400 years. The center was rotten, so we could
not get an exact age. Peter thought it was about 465.
Image#4-OGHemlockAndSpruce2.jpg: This last image provides another
look at the old growth area. I think the hemlock in the image is
between 150 and 175 years old. I will get more shots from the
hemlock-red spruce stand on my next visit. Oh yes, it was not far
from this spot that one encounters a small, but impressive stand of
hardwoods. It is in those hardwoods that Don Bertolette and I dated
a white ash to 230 years. At the time, its girth was 10.3 feet. We
also cored a rather young looking yellow birch that proved to be 198
years old if my failing memory serves me correctly. I realized then
that I had to re-calibrate my eye for yellow birch age
characteristics.
The lower Dunbar watershed has rushing streams, giant pines, an
old growth hardwood forest awash in big trees that push the growth
limits for the represented species in Massachusetts, an old growth
hemlock and red spruce forest, moss and fern-covered boulder fields
rich in spring ephemerals, and a wildness ambience that makes one
feel that he/she is in a much vaster forest. Dunbar also has areas
that still show the scars of past use and abuse, but nature is
healing the wounds rapidly. How could such a place exist in populous
Massachusetts? Planning? Luck? Some very foresighted individual or
individuals? I'm not sure, but one thing I do know. We are
incredibly lucky to have it.
Bob
Continued
at:
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/a549192c89acb999?hl=en
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