Fairmont park, Philadelphia, Pa  

ENTS Strikes Again!

  dbhg-@comcast.net
  Oct 04, 2003 16:21 PDT 

ENTS (and Dale in particular):

Will Blozan just called from Philadelphia, PA. He and his brother searched Philadelphia's Fairmount Park for champion trees today. Get a load of the numbers below!
general_canopy.jpg (62062 bytes)
  General canopy: The canopy is rugged and weathered, offering very impressive and widely textured vistas along the trail.  Old-growth characteristics are developing as the forest ages. Canopy gaps are dominated in some areas by Devil's walking stick! - photo by Will Blozan
chestnut_oak_roots.jpg (95492 bytes)
 Chestnut oak roots: Nice character of the knarled trees on exposed rocks.  Some of these chestnut oaks my be well over 200 years old.


{Trip  date October 4,2003}

Species            Height    Circumference

Tuliptree    158.6    10.9
Sycamore    139.0           11.4
White ash    135.7     7.3
N. Red oak    135.2     9.7
Bitternut Hickory 122.1     6.3
Black walnut    121.1     5.4
American beech    118.0          6.8
Sweet cherry    113.5     5.7
Hemlock            112.5     6.2
White oak    106.2    10.6

Rucker Index    126.2     8.0

Dale, Will covered a tiny part of the park. In time he sees the index going up to 128 or 129, possibly 130. Pennsylvania's state-wide Rucker Index has just been elevated. The tuliptree becomes the tallest hardwood measured in the Northeast. We've got some real contests going now.

Will will give a fuller account when he gets back home to Black Mountain, NC. He will be out hunting again tomorrow. Who knows what he'll find.

Bob

RE: ENTS Strikes Again!   Dale J. Luthringer
  Oct 04, 2003 17:31 PDT 

HOOOOOOLLLLLYYYYY MOOOOOOOOOLLLLYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Way to go, Will! I don't mind editing the height lists when they're in
PA! That's one dandy of a tuliptree! That tulip even tops our recent
Zoar Valley tulip! The white ash, red oak, sycamore, black walnut, and
bitternut are all new state records also!

Every time Will comes up here, he makes us re-write the record books.
Great job, dude!

It's too bad I don't like to go to Philly, with places like Fairmont
though, I might just have to make an exception.

How big is Fairmont Park? Is it in the city, suburbs, etc. I think I
need some directions. I'm starting to feel the need to go there...

Dale
More of the Fairmount Park...    Will Blozan
   Oct 07, 2003 21:18 PDT 

Well, Bob, actually....

The Rucker Index of Fairmount Park, Philly, PA, has gained ~2.25 points
after one more hour of searching on Sunday. My brother, Ben, and I added a
134.2' bitternut, and a 116.7' black oak to the Rucker index, which is now
128.44. There is not a doubt in my mind that a RI of 130 is a given, and
will only stand for a few hours. Some of the new sites we found have more
species in the 120's, which will knock out the lowest 4 species in the RI.
Taller ash, white oak, sycamore, and hemlock (what's left- HWA is BAD) and
beech will be found.

{Trip Date October 6, 2003}

Here is a tally of the trees we measured, led off by the tallest:

Tuliptree
10'11"158.6', I will send a photo to ENTS website, may be 160'-tough tree to measure!
9'2" 155.1'
11'8" 153.9'
11'3" 153.2'
9'11" 148'
10'2" 146.3'
10'3" 143.2'
13'11"142.4', Not the biggest, we saw trees up to 15' last year.
8'7" 140.3'
9'8" 137.6'
10'4" 135.5'
12'2" 133.4'
8'6" 128.8'
10'7" 132.3'
11' 130.73'
10'5" 129.9'

Beech
6'10" 118'

Bitternut
6'8" 134.2' 140' definitely possible.
7'8" 130.6'
6'5" 122.13'

White ash
7'4" 135.7' 140' almost certain, 120' trees are "weeds".
8'8" 132'
10' 128'
10'6" 122.5'

Sycamore
11'5" 139' 140' certain, trees seen up to 16' from car- return trip to
measure! (Dale?)
11'3" 130.2'
11'2" 125.9'
10'3" 119.9'
7'2" 117.8'
12'6" 110.8'
10'2" 108.7'

Hemlock
6'2" 112.5' 120' probably the max
7' 111.2'
6'10" 106.9'

Black walnut
5'5" 121.1' Perfect spot, young tree, should get to 130'+
9'9" 102' NICE forest-grown tree!!!

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium)
5'8" 113.5' Not native- but wish they were! GORGEOUS!
6' 110' Had three clear saw logs!
5'3" 102.5'

White oak
10'7" 106.2' Will find taller ones...
6' 91.9'

N. red oak
9'8" 135.24' May find taller ones...
10'1" 116'

Black oak
9'7" 116.7' Will find taller ones...

American basswood 
6'3" and 100.2'.

This is just the surface, folks. The results above are from less than 4
hours of on-trail, easy measuring. Do people in Philly realize what they
have? I could stand on the trail used by thousands and shoot straight up
with the rangefinder and register 48 yards on tuliptree (above eye). That is
150' above ground!!! The average canopy has got to be near 130'- and over many, many acres. Miles and miles in fact. The above trees are from a split ~2 mile section (less off-trail sections) of a four mile trail which is but a small portion of the park. As Dale would say HOOLLLLYYY
MMMMOOOLLLLEEEEYYYYYY!!!!

I suspect and expect the RI to exceed 132', perhaps more. As it stands, I have measured in only a few dozen acres of a 8,900 acre park (much of it is open, though). And no white pine (yet)! Incidentally, I expect that the final RI will probably contain NO conifers. HOW ABOUT THAT!!!

Will

Photographs by Will Blozan, 
Submitted Oct. 08, 2003

158_tuliptree.jpg (72953 bytes)
 158.6' Tuliptree: My brother, Ben, at the base of the tallest tree we found and tallest hardwood known in PA.
tulip_scene.jpg (111914 bytes)
 Tulip scene: A poor composite of the canopy architecture of some big trees and the river below. The chunky tree nearest the water is 153.2 feet tall and 11'3" in girth.
tulip2.jpg (88783 bytes)
 Tulip2: Photo of the base of some large trees. Stocking is high across much of the walk we did, allowing the tuliptrees to ascend to such great heights.
121_black_walnut.jpg (83671 bytes)
 121' Black walnut: Very young tree with lots of room, likely to reach 130'-135'.
tuliptree_sweet_cherry.jpg (84142 bytes)
 Tuliptree and sweet cherry: Although an exotic invasive species, the sweet cherries were very impressive and by far the tallest I have ever seen.  Preferring rich, deep soils, sweet cherries indicate the richness of the site and represent a good chunk of the Rucker Index. Balding of the tuliptree bark and canopy architecture suggest ages of around 130-160 years.
white_oak.jpg (156801 bytes) 
White oak: An unmeasured ~11' white oak that may surpass 120'. Ben and I were on our way out due to an extreme calorie deficit and choose not to measure it.


Hooray for Fairmount Park and Will   Robert Leverett
  Oct 08, 2003 05:43 PDT 

Will:

   <material deleted>

   Given what you have seen, do you see the Rucker Index reaching 134?
It sounds like it could happen, given all the terrain there is left to
cover. And your observation about the center of northern red oak
development is a good one. The center of development certainly won't be
in New England or comparable latitudes to the west and you've sampled
its development in the southern Apps. But we need to await further word
from Jess and Randy in S.C. and Michael who maybe can feed us some N.
red oak data from eastern Tennessee before we conclude that 38 to 41
degrees latitude north is where Quercus rubra makes its best stand (bad
pun, bad pun). Hey, this is ENTS at its best!

   We need to figure out how to get some publicity out of this one. We
could cast it as the showdown of the decade: eastern PA's tall trees
versus those in the west - a real "tall-out". Cook versus Fairmount!
Good press! After the leaves settled, we can have an ENTS parade in
either downtown Philly or in Clarion. I have to admit, I'm still
prejudiced toward Cook, but I stand in awe of what you've uncovered.
We'll have to figure out a time when comrade and Captain 4th grade Lex
Luthringer can join us for a rendezvous in the city of brotherly love.   


Burl-belly (and darn proud of it) Bob over and out
Re: More of the Fairmount Park...   Thomas Diggins
  Oct 08, 2003 08:40 PDT 

Will,

Sounds like you've stumbled on another Zoar Valley, albeit, a bit more accessible and
visited. You're even finding killer forest-grown walnuts! What's your take on the level
of human disturbance? Your tree sizes would likely indicate old-growth in upstate NY,
but do other characteristics of the stand, and of the individual trees, also suggest
this? I suspect southern PA probably can grow trees a little faster than the Buffalo
environment, but this site sounds REALLY impressive by ANY standards. Jolly good show!

Tom
RE: More of the Fairmount Park...   Will Blozan
  Oct 08, 2003 09:38 PDT 

The site is certainly not old-growth, though trees over 200 years are
scattered about. The tuliptree/ash forests are probably 120-160 years, max.
LOTS of human disturbance and exotic species abound. Not a high quality
ecological site but an intact forest of great dimensions. The tulips ought
to go to 6' plus diameter with no problem, but will never be "old-growth". I
think I saw some tulips in yards in the gorgeous suburb of Chestnut Hill
that will likely be close to 18' and 130'.

To answer Bob's question, I suspect the RI may reach 134', especially if
white pine enters the scene.

Will
Re: More of the Fairmount Park...   Thomas Diggins
  Oct 08, 2003 11:01 PDT 

Will,

Yes, of course. Eastern PA has been settled for more than 300 years. We're quite
spoiled in Western New York to have a much shorter European history - makes old
growth much more likely. Even Ohio has a longer disturbance history (good rivers
and turnpikes, as opposed to the swampy routes west that led to the Buffalo
area). Sounds like a forest that may develop into secondary old growth, and
awesome at that. I noticed that your shade-tolerant trees are mostly <7' cbh,
and no mention of sugar maple. Is this forest starting to transition to
later-successional species? Sounds like an amazing site, even if it's not
original forest cover. Way to go PA!

Tom
RE: More of the Fairmount Park...   Will Blozan
  Oct 08, 2003 14:28 PDT 

I don't recall seeing any sugar maple. Norway (of course) and red maple were
represented but not common. The sugars may be in the coves in a more upland
position. I stayed down by the river along the road. Red maple may reach
100' but the ones I saw were rather short.

Will
Fairmount Park Discovery   Robert Leverett
  Oct 08, 2003 10:49 PDT 

ENTS:

   Will's new discovery certainly befits the president of ENTS and his
reputation deservedly grows with each new confirmation or climb.

   Will asks an interesting question. He asks whether the citizens of
Philly know what they have or not in the Fairmount forest and the answer
is, of course, no. They would have no way of knowing and that is where
ENTS comes in. Our fanatical dedication to accuracy is exactly what was
needed to answer such questions. Otherwise each state, state property,
federal property, private property becomes a little fiefdom unto itself.
It happens that way. The managers of each property establish their own
rules and the public trustingly accepts. Places like Fairmount Park
become lost in time. Well, it just got rediscovered, or perhaps just
discovered. When the park was first established, the tuliptrees were
mere saplings - nothing to get excited about. Not so anymore. Nor the
oak. Nor the sycamore. About all I can think of is Holy Moly! Dale's
exclamatory phrase says it all.

Bob
RE: Cook Forest-Maple Dr. updates   Will Blozan
  Feb 14, 2005 18:04 PST 

PA and NE folks,

Fairmount Park will without a doubt, be #2 in PA within a few hours of a new
visit. I did not measure white pine which I saw over 125', and taller
specimens of several species will be found. The question is where to look.
Focus on the streams and deep coves, and look for species I have not
measured yet. Hemlock must go higher (if you can find a living one) as
should white oak. Green or white ash should hit 140' with careful scouting.
Sycamore, if pressed in with tulips should go to the mid 140's as well.
Contact Bill McKibben (sp) for sites, or my brother may know of more places.
My brother just took me to a random place he thought was good, and look what
I found! The park is HUGE!

Look out Cook Forest!

Will