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TOPIC: Cathedral State Park
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/825a1ba4b68da38c?hl=en
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== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Wed, Jan 9 2008 2:28 pm
From: ForestRuss@aol.com


Ents:

I was at a meeting with people from the WV DNR over the past couple of days
and it looks like there might be a good chance for someone to measure and
document a new record hemlock for West Virginia. I was talking with the park
supervisor and he thinks he has found a tree close to the size of the one lost
to a storm several years ago. I told him about the ENTS objective and
efforts towards documenting large and old trees and he seems very interested in
cleaning up some of the historic inaccuracies associated with "olde tyme"
gigantic timber lore.

Russ

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Wed, Jan 9 2008 5:32 pm
From: "Dale Luthringer"


Russ,

Here's some stats from my trip there back in 2003. These were all taken
only on the north side of the road. I didn't have time to hit the south
side.

Species CBH Height Comments

Am. beech 7.5 101.6

Black birch 8.8 96.1+ >150 years

Black cherry 8.8 96.1+
Black cherry 8.2 111.3
Black cherry 11.4 113.7 >200 years

E. hemlock 13.1 N/A snag
E. hemlock 16.2 94.3 'Centennial Hemlock' at 39 19.605N x 79 32.032W
E. hemlock N/A 105.4
E. hemlock 11.3 106.3
E. hemlock N/A 107.4
E. hemlock 9.9 108.6
E. hemlock 12.3 111.2 new 12x100 class
E. hemlock 11.3 112
E. hemlock 9.9 130.3 tallest in the stand at 39 19.613N
x 79 32.336W

N. red oak 11.9 100.5 CBH above burl, very old tree,  >225+years

Red maple 9.4 84.1+ >175 years
Red maple 8.9 105.6

White oak 10.6 93.3 >200 years

The ages I listed were just my visual notes. None were confirmed by cores.

Dale

http://www.asecular.com/forests/cathedral.htm 

http://www.cathedralstatepark.com/ 

http://www.wvstateparks.com/videos/cathedralsm.htm

http://www.wvstateparks.com/videos/cathedrallg.htm 

From: Mike Powell [mailto:mikepowell@wvdnr.gov]
Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 11:11 AM
To: djluthringer
Subject: RE: Cathedral State Park  

Hello Dale,
Nice to make your acquaintance as well. I do not know Russ well, but really enjoyed his presentation at our superintendents meeting where I met him. We also have a mutual friend that talks highly of him, so I really look forward to working with him, and getting to know him better. I am thrilled to have a contact at Cook Forest . I have been told for a few years now by visitors how wonderful Cook Forest is and that I should visit. After getting my position here at Cathedral I have read several papers and a book on old-growth forest, and it is hard not to read a reference about the Cook Forest . Hopefully one day soon I will be able to make a visit there.

The "Centennial Hemlock" or the large stem tree you mentioned near the office was struck by lightning and fell in 2004. There is still a large snag about 15-20 feet tall standing. Unfortunately the majority of the tree was rotten so a cross section is not a possibility. There may be a possibility of going up further from the point that it fell and getting a cross section for fun, but it will not capture the true age of the tree. I am also going to try and get an interpretive sign developed for display to tell the story of this magnificent tree.

The south side of the park does exhibit signs of old growth, but the trees are not as large as the ones on the north side. My guess is that there was some selective cutting performed over there sometime ago. This theory has been supported by old-timers in the area, but I have not spoken to these people personally. I like that side of the park in many ways: It is the least utilized part of the park, and you rarely see hikers over there. It is also elevated above the road surface of Rt. 50 and may not receive as much degradation as the north side due to the presence of this highway. This is just a theory and has not been researched as of yet.

Thank you for the links to the native tree society and the Cathedral research. I really appreciate any help and input you have on the park, and look forward to talking to you in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Powell
Park Ranger
Cathedral State Park
Rt. 1 Box 370
Aurora , WV 26705