MTSF:  Lee's Tree and More   Robert Leverett   Jun 19, 2006 06:47 PDT  ENTS,     Yesterday, Monica Jakuc, Christine Olson, and I went to MTSF. As the Friends group for the property, it is important to put in regular appearances. But I had specific objectives in mind. One task was to re-measure the Lee Frelich tree. Lee’s tree is the tallest in the ENTS Grove. Lee's tree is now 158.8 ft tall. Its circumference at breast height is 8.4 feet. At the root collar, it is 10.4 feet around. Given the rapid growth of the pines this past week in MTSF, I am fairly confident that Lee's tree will reach 159.0 feet by the end of the growing season, if not more.     A second task was to measure the new growth on the Jake Swamp tree. Jake has grown well this past week. It is now 167.8 feet tall and the new growth is 5.76 inches. I was pretty pleased. It will almost certainly make 168.0 by the end of the growing season – if not more. The cool wet spring has kept new growth slow, but I think that is about to change. If Jake grows like it did last year, it will put on another 4 to 5 inches.     As of yesterday’s measurement, the Jake tree was firmly in 6th place for height in the Northeast. The 5 tallest trees are all in Cook Forest State Park, PA. No surprises there. It is likely that we’ll find a few new northeastern sites with very tall trees that have so far eluded us, but at this point, the only place in the Northeast that is likely to push Jake farther down the tall tree list is Cook Forest. The super tall trees in the Northeast are presently concentrated in a handful of sites, so tracking them is not hard as contrasted to the Southeast. The Northeast’s tallest 31 trees are listed below. The list includes all trees 160 feet tall or more. That’s why the odd number 31. Species    Location   Height       Circumference Name WP            Cook        182.5            11.3            Longfellow WP            Cook        174.0            11.2             Featherduster WP            Cook        173.2            12.5            Seneca WP            Cook        171.2            10.2            Jani WP            Cook        167.9              9.4            Unnamed WP            MTSF       167.8            10.4            Jake Swamp WP             A. Run     167.1            13.0            Cornplanter Pine WP             Cook        166.9              9.4            Unnamed WP             Cook        166.3              9.1            Unnamed WP             Cook        166.1              8.5            Unnamed WP             Cook        165.9            10.5            Unnamed WP             Cook        165.9              9.5            Unnamed WP             Cook        165.2            10.2            Unnamed WP             MTSF       164.8            11.4            Unnamed WP             Cook         164.4             9.6            Unnamed WP             MTSF       164.2              9.6            Unnamed WP             Cook         163.3            11.6            Unnamed WP             Cook         163.1             10.4            Unnamed WP             Cook         162.6             10.6            Unnamed WP             Cook         162.3             10.3            Unnamed WP             Cook         162.1               9.8            Unnamed WP             Cook         162.1               8.9            Unnamed WP             Hearts C    162.0               9.9            Unnamed WP             MTSF        161.8             11.7            Tecumseh WP             Cook          161.7             12.4            Cook Pine WP             Cook          161.7             10.3            Unnamed WP             Cook          161.3             10.6            Unnamed WP             Cook          161.2             11.3            Unnamed WP             MSF           160.2             12.9            H.D. Thoreau WP             MTSF         160.0             10.2            F. Decontie WP             Hearts C     160.0             12.7           Unnamed      Other trees measured in MTSF measured yesterday are as follows. Species   Hgt      Girth    Name WP         141.2      9.0    Christine's Tree NRO         87.5    10.1    SM           87.4    10.8 NRO         82.8    10.6 WP         136.6     7.0     Sweetie Pie Tree WP         160.0   10.2     Frank Decontie Tree     The Frank Decontie tree measurement was a the latest in a long series. It is a difficult tree to measure. Two trees were named yesterday. The first is a white pine in the south end of the ENTS Grove. It was named for our friend Christine Olson who shows a remarkable connection to the trees and to her tree in particular. The pine is a beauty. The second tree was named for Monica.     The Sweetie Pie Tree is located in an area of MTSF that I seldom visit. The pines are fairly young and were not that noticeable 15 to 20 years ago. But the trees are beautifully formed and they have finally come of age. The name of the area is the Frog Pond Pines. As another tall tree site, it will be a place to watch and is already a place to enjoy. There may be one or two trees brushing 140 feet, but most are 125 to 135.      An area adjacent to the Frog Pond Pines features large sugar maples and red oaks. I measured two red oaks over 10 feet in circumference that I had not previously measured. There are at least two more in that size range. So far 83 trees have been measured in MTSF with girths of 10 feet or more. There are probably over 100 trees over 10 feet around in MTSF, if not 120 or 130. Bob Robert T. Leverett Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society   Home