The UBC Faculty of Forestry has launched the BC Big Tree Registry with the hopes of finding the largest trees in the province.
Big Lonely Doug in Port Renfrew (Photo Credit: TJ Watt)
The Big Tree committee is looking to identify, describe, monitor and conserve the largest trees of each species within BC and also educate residents about their importance. A registry website has been launched and anyone can nominate a tree online. The purpose of the registry is to re-establish the original records that have gone missing.
Cheewhat Giant in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Photo Credit: TJ Watt)
The registry was initially started by Randy Stoltmann in 1986 but he tragically died in a skiing accident in May of 1994. Shortly before he died Stoltmann copied most of the records into a report for the BC Conservation Data Centre, but after his death the Forest Education BC stopped maintaining the data and many maps and photographs went missing.
Bishop WIld Bird Sanctuary in Coldstream (Photo Credit: M Carlson)
In the fall of 2010 the BC Big Tree Registry found a home with the Faulty of Forestry at UBC and students have been working to collect information around the province. To nominate a tree a measurement of the trunk circumference needs to be taken. For more information and a list of the top ten highest scoring trees for each species visit the registry website.
