Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, OH Thomas Diggins  Jul 13, 2003 13:37 PDT  Hello ENTS, Great report from Mill Creek Park, in Y-Town, OH. The park, established in the 1890s, contains a dramatic sandstone gorge (~100 feet deep) with several old mill dams. Much of the area was developed in the 1800s, but large areas of the park, especially canyon slopes, are old growth, lightly cut if at all. Jaw-dropping old-growth red, white, and black oak, and impressive hemlock groves on hillsides. Many trees at 3' DBH or more. Sugar and red maple less common, but still impressive. A few beeches of note. Nice sycamores along the stream (11 - 15' CBH and ~110'). Evidence of logging on most of the flat lands, with coppiced red oaks and a few cherries. Quite mature, though, as harvesting was done more than a century ago. Very diverse forest, with about 20 canopy species total. Ages of large trees fallen across trails and sawed up range from ~150 years up to 230 years for a red oak (sawed 35' above its base). In a selectively-logged streamside grove a 170-year-old beech of ~20" DBH shows an obvious growth release corresponding to c. 1870. I'm not a dendrochronologist, but that's right in line with the known history of the area. Pretty cool. OK... some heights... 1) Tulip tree 137.7' x 10.5" (2 vantage points at 136.9 and 138.5 - tough tree) NE Ohio's tallest accurately measured tree. 2) Sycamore 123.1" (2 vantage points at 122.6 and 123.6). 3) NRO 122.6' x 9' 10" (3 vantage points from 122.1' - 123.0') State record for NRO? A 145' claim in state big tree list is not plausible. 4) WO 118.1' x 8' 9" 5) Black cherry 114.2' x 6' 10" 6) E. Hemlock 113.8' 7) Red maple 110.7' x 7' 11" 8) Red elm 110.5' x 6' 1" 9) White ash 104.5' x 5' 2" 10) Sugar maple 103.6' x 6' 2" Rucker Index of 115.9' after only one surveying day! I'm sure we're going to get more out of some of these species (only 104.5' for ash... I don't think so), but I'm not sure if a 120' Rucker is feasible. We'll see. There are several promising tall-tree groves still to be visited, and we may find some new trees when the leaves are off. In terms of old growth, I'm anticipating dozens of acres eventually, as the sinuous canyon slopes and side glens will add up. I don't think the park administration has any idea what kind of a natural treasure they're sitting on. Recent park-management decisions, including a debate in which I and other YSU professors strongly opposed the Park Board, suggest this park's stewards care more about tennis courts than trees. Every recreation contituency seems to get a blank check, despite the fact that the original bequest of the park land in 1891 was as a preserve. BTW, all of the old growth and tall trees reported here are within the city limits (NOT metro area) of Youngstown. This must be one of the finest urban forests in the eastern US. That alone should dictate a more conservation-oriented management strategy. NE Ohio is shaping up pretty nicely - we just need a little more of a land ethic here. More to come... Tom Home