The idea for WNTS was born in
Aug 2001 on the patio of my daughter's prior home in Ogden,
Utah. The idea was spawned between Don Bertolette, yours
truly, and my daughter Celeste.
From the start, it was obvious
to me that Don would be the central figure and primary
organizer of WNTS, but he would need a long time to figure
out what the focus of WNTS should be. I had every confidence
in Don that he would put the pieces together when the time was
right. But as all who visit there and know, the Rocky Mountain
west is a vast place with a lot of arid, semi-arid, and high
altitude landscape. Big trees can be in rugged box canyons
that are almost impossible to get to. Pack trips are required
to get to some of the best places. And interest in big trees
is spread pretty thin among westerners - especially in small
western towns.
Don has a big challenge on his
hands and will need all the help he can get. For my part, I
plan to focus my attention on the Black Hills. I am very
familiar with them and from this summer's past trip that
included the Black Hills, I realize that there is a story to
be told and modified Rucker indices to be calculated (forget
about a 10-species index). I'll likely spend a good deal of
time in the Utah Wasatch and Uintahs also. That should keep me
occupied. Anybody want dubs on other areas?
Bob Leverett
More comments about the origins of the
Western Native Tree Society by Don Bertolette can be found here:
http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f=159&t=2818
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Olympic National Park, Washington - photo by Ed Frank |