| Cook
Forest: Maple Drive old growth |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| Nov
10, 2004 16:57 PST |
Bob,
I spent the day starting to document a newly discovered old
growth
section at Cook Forest today in the vicinity of Maple Drive. The
old
forest survey maps documented this area as “overmature” back
in the late
1940’s. It is located on an un-named tributary of the Upper
Tom’s Run
watershed near the NW end of the park. You can actually drive
through
the extreme western part of this area on small piece of park
property
that crosses over Maple Drive. The majority of this area is
located on
the eastern side of Maple Drive. The upper forks of this
tributary
begin on the eastern side of Maple Drive which eventually drains
into
Tom’s Run.
It appears that this area had some selectively logging in the
early to
mid 1800’s, probably for white pine or hemlock, but there were
few stump
remnants to be found. The area mostly consists of very old white
oak,
northern red oak, black cherry, and American beech with a few
scattered
old E. white pine, E. hemlock, shaggy red maple, and
cucumbertree.
There is evidence of an old road of sorts that comes in from the
northern side of the northern fork of the un-named trib and runs
near
the base of the drainage to an undetermined destination. The
northern
side of this fork is mostly a very nice 2nd growth stand with a
few
select old trees. I would definitely call the southern end of
this
un-named trib a secondary old growth stand or better. I’d
wager a
visual estimate on max ages of the following species:
Species Est.
Max Age
White oak 275
N. red oak 250
Am. beech 250
Cucumbertree 225
Red maple 225
E. hemlock 225
E. white pine 200
Black cherry 200
The old growth staghead crowns of the hardwoods are most
impressive with
an almost unbroken canopy for close to ½ mile. Most of the
ancient
white oaks and N. reds are around 105-110ft with outliers that
approach
the 120ft class. There are a number of white pine here in the
140ft
class that were quite a pleasant surprise. I’d be surprised to
break
145 though for pine. Hemlock heights are unimpressive all though
they
have some age to them. 120ft class black cherries are like weeds
in
here. There’s probably a sleeper 130ft class black cherry in
here
somewhere if I were to spend the time to tweak the entire
stand… I’m
sure Will would find one immediately.
The American beech in here are AWESOME. So far I’ve got one in
the
120ft class. I feel I’ve got a new park height record for
beech in here
somewhere, but it’ll be like pulling a needle out of a
haystack with all
these intertwined crowns. It would be an impossible task with
all the
leaves still on.
The days stats as follows:
Species CBH Height Comments
Am. beech 8.5 105.1+
Am. beech 7.4 110.4
Am. beech 11.4 111.1+
new park girth record
Am. beech 7.4 116.7
Am. beech 7.7 122.3 1
of the few documented to 120ft
class
Black cherry N/A 117.8
Black cherry N/A 118
Black cherry 4.8 118.4
Black cherry N/A 120.2
Black cherry N/A 120.2
Black cherry 4.9 126.1
Black cherry 8.9 126.1+
Black cherry 8.5 126.2+
Black cherry 6.9 126.9
Black cherry 7.8 127.4+
ran out of daylight
Black cherry 8.7 128.5
Black cherry N/A 129.2+
forgot to write girth down, aaaagggghh!!!! (~9ft CBH)
Cucumbertree 9.1 112.4
E. white pine 10.7 136
E. white pine 7.7 138.7
E. white pine 9.2 140
E. white pine 9.4 142
E. white pine 9.7 142.4
E. white pine 8.6 142.6
E. white pine 8.3 143.2
E. white pine 8.6 144.2
N. red oak 9.6 108.9 HOLY
MOLEY!
N. red oak 10.5 108.9 what
a bute!
N. red oak 12.2 110 gorgeous
oak! new 12x100 class
N. red oak 8.4 112
Red maple 9.5 111.1+
shaggy
Red maple 7 114.7
White ash 5 114.9
White oak 8.5 102.9 white
oak like this everywhere
White oak 9.5 103.7
White oak 8.7 105.1+
White oak 9.5 105.1+
White oak 7 105.6
White oak 6.9 105.7
White oak 7.7 106.1
White oak 8.3 108.3
White oak 10.3 116.2
White oak 8.8 119.5
This site will HAVE to be one of our stops if you make it down
here in
the spring.
Dale |
| Maple
Drive Surprise |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| Nov
22, 2004 17:00 PST |
Bob,
I had a couple of hours after lunch and paperwork today, to go
back out
and take some more measurements of the new hardwood old growth
area off
of Maple Drive. The old white oaks in here are the most
impressive tree
species to me in this site, but then again, the ancient N. red
oaks, red
maple, black cherries, Am. beech, and E. hemlocks aren't
slouches here
either.
The whopper of a find today was a small impressive white pine
stand that
I didn't even know existed in the park. Yes, Bob, we have a
couple of
very small "sleeper" white pine stands here. The white
pine in this
area seem to have been left over from a select cut for the
bigger ones
sometime back in the mid-1800's. I'd put the oldest white pine
in here
to around 200 years, but most would be somewhere between
125-175.
The day's stats as follows:
Species CBH Height Comments
Am. beech 4.5 114.1
Am. beech 6.5 115.9
Am. beech 7.4 117.2
Black cherry 8.7 114.1+
nice straight trunk
Black cherry N/A 114.2
Black cherry 9.5 124.4 many
in this height class
Cucumbertree 4 116 nice
cuke' pole, probably my
highest HDR for the species at 91.06
E. hemlock N/A 109.2
E. hemlock N/A 118.9 porky
was 90.7ft up in its trunk
(Will, what's your highest ever documented porcupine?)
E. hemlock N/A 119
E. hemlock 11.2 119.7 very
old, 350+
E. hemlock N/A 120.2
E. hemlock N/A 124.4
E. white pine N/A 117
E. white pine 7.9 125.1
E. white pine N/A 125.6
E. white pine N/A 132.1
E. white pine 8.4 134.7
E. white pine 7.9 141.8
E. white pine 10 143.8
E. white pine 10.7 150.7 that's
#72 for 150ft class pines
E. white pine 11.2 160.7 that's
#25 for 160ft class pines
!!!!!!!!!!!!! (elicited multiple ENTS yells)
N. red oak 11.3 105.1+
N. red oak 7.8 113.2
Quercus sp. 5.4 102.6 velutina
or coccinea (need to
re-check)
Red maple 8.4 105.6
White oak 8.7 102.6
White oak 8.7 112.5 gorgeous
old column
White oak 7.7 113.8 dieing
back
This site is like a little gold mine. I've been expanding my eye
for
old trees lately in marginal stature old growth in other PA
sites. it
sure is nice to get back into the "good stuff". I
believe I've found
most of the northern and western boundaries of the old trees,
but still
haven't come to the end of this area to the east and south. At
the
moment, my boundaries are about 0.8miles long x 0.5miles at its
widest.
The new 150 and 160 foot class pines were quite the surprise for
me
today. I really didn't think I'd find any in the 150ft class in
the
Upper Tom's Run Valley, let alone a 160! Bob, that now puts Cook
Forest
at 101 white pines in the 150ft class or better. Maybe there's
another
150footer here, but I doubt it. I do think I can pull at least
one more
150 footer out of the Hemlock Trail/RT36 area though.
Dale |
| RE:
Maple Drive Surprise |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| Nov
23, 2004 17:38 PST |
Will,
Bob,
Uh oh, maybe that porcupine is looking to grab a northeast
mammal height
record. well, at least for Erethizontids anyway.
I got back in the site again this afternoon. I've refined the
height on
that 160ft class pine to 161.1ft high. I've shot it now from two
sides.
I'm not sure on the view yet from the north. There are a lot of
candles
on that crown.
Found one more 150ft class pine also along with a few more 120ft
class
Am. beech. I just can't seem to break the 125ft threshold for
beech.
Black cherry are just shy of 130ft class, although there
probably is one
in there somewhere.
This site is definitely a type of secondary old growth stand. It
is
just starting to develop snags and large course woody debris.
Staghead
crowns are common on white oak and N. red oak along with deep
bark
furrows and balding. Other species over 150 years include red
maple,
cucumbertree, E. white pine, E. hemlock, and black cherry. There
is
evidence of old white pine stumps in select areas and a very old
road of
sorts near the base of the drainage that appears to run out of
the site
in a northerly direction. Private property on either side of
this area
has been recently logged within the last 5 years. They must have
got a
bundle.
Today's stats follows:
Species CBH Height Coordinates
Am. beech 5.3 103.1
Am. beech N/A 108.8
Am. beech 8.2 110.4
Am. beech 5.5 111.7
Am. beech N/A 112.6
Am. beech 9.8 114
Am. beech 7.6 118.7
Am. beech 6.4 121.1 41
21.233N x 79 14.418W
Am. beech 6.6 121.5 41
21.095N x 79 14.369W
Am. beech 6.8 122.8 41
21.170N x 79 14.377W
black cherry 6.4 121
black cherry 7.3 121.5
black cherry 6.2 122.5
black cherry 7.4 125.9
black cherry 8.7 128.2
cucumbertree 7.9 109.7
E. hemlock 8.6 114.1
E. hemlock N/A 121.1
E. white pine 7.7 126.3
E. white pine 8 132.6
E. white pine 9.7 136.4
E. white pine 7.5 137.6
E. white pine 9.4 139.8
E. white pine 9.5 143.9 41
21.045N x 79 14.406W
E. white pine 8.4 147.8 41
21.171N x 79 14.382W
E. white pine 10.1 151.5 41
21.111N x 79 14.353W (that's
#73!)
E. white pine 11.2 161.1 41
21.114N x 79 14.345W (sticking
w/this height on yesterday's
tree)
N. red oak 10.3
108.1+
red maple 9.7 108.1+
The Quercus sp. I posted yesterday is definitely Quercus
velutina at
5.4ft CBH x 102.6ft high.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
Dale
| Re:
Maple Drive Beech Trees |
Edward
Frank |
| Dec
15, 2004 19:56 PST |
Dale,
How old do you think are the Beech's in the Maple Drive
section of the
park? You indicated in the first description of the area
that it was an
old growth area with trees maybe 250 years old? Are the
beech's in that
section as old as that, or do they represent a younger
regrowth? They are
of similar in size to the younger ~100 year old Beech
measured by Bob.
This isn't much of a size differential if the trees vary
in age by 250%,
and 150 years.
...
Four of your newest measurements would best the number 9
beech on the
current tallest trees of the east list, it may not be
completely up to date,
but that is pretty good.
Maple Drive, Cook Forest, PA
Am. beech 7.7
122.3
Am. beech 6.4
121.1 41
21.233N x 79 14.418W
Am. beech 6.6
121.5 41
21.095N x 79 14.369W
Am. beech 6.8
122.8 41
21.170N x 79 14.377W
------------------------------------------------------
Anyway Dale, keep on measuring.
Ed Frank
| |
All
the hardwoods noted above are all over 150 years
in age, accept
maybe the Am. beech you measured (~100?). I just
haven't been able to
find younger representatives that will surpass
the height of these older
ones... then again, maybe I need to retrain my
eye for a different scale
again. |
|
|
| Re:
Maple Drive Beech Trees |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| Dec
16, 2004 05:46 PST |
Ed,
I'd say some of the beech will reach great age in Maple Dr., but
most
seem to be ~150-175 year range. The 120ft class beech in Maple
Dr. are
all ~150-200 years. I've even measured some younger (~75-125
years) and
spindlier ones but to no avail. The younger ones will go to the
upper
110ft class, but can't seem to put them over that 120ft mark.
The
really old ones (>200)are usually of decent girth (>10ft
CBH), but have
experienced crown damage over the years and are usually either
just over
100ft, or just under 120ft.
Dale
|
| Maple
Drive, Cook Forest |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| Dec
29, 2004 |
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:23:00 -0500
From: "Luthringer, Dale J"
Bob,
That old growth area off of Maple Dr. keeps giving me surprises.
The
section I did today is just off the western side of the road. I
measured
this stand previously, but had to delete my data because I
surveyed the
stand with a busted rangefinder. It's been 2 years since then,
but I
finally got around to it. There are some NICE oaks in there,
plus a couple
new park height records:
|
Species
|
CBH
|
Height
|
Comments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Am. beech
|
7.6
|
99.2
|
|
|
Am. beech
|
8.8
|
102.1+
|
|
|
Am. beech
|
7.4
|
103.3
|
|
|
Am. beech
|
3.7
|
110.8
|
HD = 94.03 (new park record)
|
|
Am. beech
|
6.6
|
112.7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
black oak
|
6.5
|
108.7
|
new park girth & height record
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
10.9
|
96.1+
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
11.3
|
102.1+
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
12.5
|
102.5
|
new 12x100 club
|
|
N. red oak
|
10.3
|
104.1
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
9.5
|
105.3
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
10
|
105.5
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
10.5
|
107.4
|
|
|
N. red oak
|
13.1
|
117
|
new 12x100 club
|
|
N. red oak
|
11
|
126.1+
|
new park height record
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
red maple
|
6.8
|
105.4
|
|
|
red maple
|
9
|
116.5
|
maybe taller
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
shagbark hickory
|
4.4
|
73.9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
white oak
|
8.6
|
101.1
|
|
|
white oak
|
9.7
|
106.1
|
|
|
white oak
|
8.9
|
109.2
|
|
|
white oak
|
6.8
|
111.1
|
|
|
white oak
|
6.7
|
113.6
|
|
|
white oak
|
7.6
|
113.7
|
|
|
white oak
|
8.6
|
115.8
|
|
|
white oak
|
10.3
|
117.1+
|
getting dark
|
The new red
oak height record was the REAL kicker today... multiple ENTS
calls! I could only shoot it from directly underneath. That now
moves
Cook Forest's Rucker Index up to 135.9. It bumped out the old
"Diggings/Leverett" red oak record (122.9ft) by over
3ft. Look out Zoar
Valley! Here's a quick run down below:
|
E. white pine
|
11.3
|
182
|
3rd tallest E. U.S.
|
|
E. hemlock
|
12
|
145.7
|
tallest NE
|
|
black cherry
|
11.4
|
140
|
3rd tallest E. U.S.
|
|
tuliptree
|
8.2
|
136.6
|
|
|
white ash
|
7.6
|
128.3
|
|
|
white oak
|
10.7
|
126.8
|
tallest NE
|
|
N. red oak
|
11
|
126.1+
|
|
|
red maple
|
9
|
126
|
|
|
Am. Beech
|
7.9
|
124.4
|
|
|
cucumbertree
|
7.5
|
123.1
|
|
Cook Forest
Rucker Index: 135.9
Looking forward to showing you this spot come spring. I found a
couple of
chestnut stumps in here today also. It has experienced some type
of
logging in the past, but there still are N. red oaks, white
oaks, E.
hemlocks, red maple, black cherry, cucumbertree, and E. white
pine that
will go over 150 years in here. The staghead crowns are really
what catch
the eye. I've had ring counts on downed white oaks that have
surpassed 225
years.
Dale
|
|