Yellow Birch   Dale J. Luthringer
  Sep 22, 2003 19:22 PDT 

Yes,

(Indian Springs Area, Cook Forest State park, PA)

I forgot about that one. You've got so many finds at once, I failed to
mention them all. That yellow birch was quite a find. I've only been
able to find one or two in the 90ft class to date. A 100 footer would
definitely exude an ENTS yell. I've heard you and Bruce talking about
fat yellow birch (>10ft CBH) in NY, any ideas on some of their heights?

Dale


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Leverett
   What about the 2nd 100-foot yellow birch? Still, they're rare as
hen's teeth.

Bob
RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    dbhg-@comcast.net
   Sep 23, 2003 03:49 PDT 

Dale:

I've gotten up to 96 feet in New York. Will has broken 100 feet a few more
times, but basically that's as high as they go.

Bob
Re: new girth records for Cook Forest    Howard Stoner
   Sep 23, 2003 04:53 PDT 
Dale,
Checked my measurements for the past year and found two yellow birch.
9.6 ft. cbh and 81 ft. tall, 11.3 ft. cbh and no height taken. Will
check this
second one out if I am in the area over the Columbus Day weekend and let
you
know.
Howard
Re: new girth records for Cook Forest    Thomas Diggins
   Sep 23, 2003 08:06 PDT 

Dale, Bob, etc.,

Bruce and I visited some awesome yellow birches near Piseco Lake, southern
Adirondacks, including one of nearly 15' cbh! This was pre-laser days so,
unfortunately, we don't know the heights. My eyeball estimate for the big ones
is around 90'. Zoar Valley may turn out to be the NE killer tall yellow birch
site. While the largest are just over 8' cbh, the tallest yet measured is
101.3', and I'm not sure I got the highest branch through the dense sugar maple
overstory. Several of this tree's neighbors are of similar stature. Ninety feet
seems pretty commonplace, but is easily overlooked as a "mid-story" tree. I'm
guardedly optimistic that 105'+ is possible down in the canyon, but I doubt much
taller. I don't think Will breaks 110' very often even in the Smokies.

Tom
RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    Robert Leverett
   Sep 23, 2003 13:36 PDT 

Dale:

   On Panther Mountain at Piseco Lake, I've measured 3 yellow birches
all over 14 feet in circumference. The giant among them is near the
middle campground. It is 14.8 feet around and a hair over 95 feet. It is
in a flat area, so there isn't a down hill root bulge to deal with. It
is truly a monster. All 3 are sinle-stemmed yellow birches. I've never
seen the equal of the Daks for large, single-stemmed yellow birches.

Bob
RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    Will Blozan
   Sep 23, 2003 16:48 PDT 

I only have one yellow birch over 110', anywhere. And only one other over
100', Mike Davie or Jess may have a few over 100', but I don't know. Mike
and I measured one to over 17' cbh and 96' if my feeble memory serves me
right.

Will
RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    dbhg-@comcast.net
   Sep 24, 2003 04:21 PDT 

Will, Dale, Jess, et al,:

Yellow birch seems to reach its maximum dimensions in several places,
including the Smokies, the Adirondacks, and parts of Vermont, New Hampshire,
and Maine. In Massachusetts, we have measured several forest grown yellow
birches to 10-11 feet, one just over 12, and one at 13.0 feet around. Heights
of mature trees are typically 80 to 95 feet. However, contrary to what I said
in my prior e-mail, I have measured 3 over 100 feet. I had forgotten the one at
Bardwell Ferry on the Deerfield River, a tree I need to revisit. The three 100-
footers are as follows:

Location     Height          Girth

   Bardwell     100.4           6.7
   Monroe SF    100.6           8.1
   Clark Ridge 101.1           4.7

The largest is:

   Monroe SF    98.1            13.0

Bob
Re: RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    Jess Riddle
   Sep 24, 2003 05:17 PDT 

The tallest yellow birch my dad and I have measured in Georgia is 90.6',
we haven't measured many in the Smokies, and the species is rare in SC.
I've heard about one near a country club in Highlands, NC that is supposed
to be well over 100.

Jess
RE: new girth records for Cook Forest    Dale J. Luthringer
   Sep 24, 2003 06:18 PDT 

Bob, Will,

Any idea on what kind of soil nutrients make them grow this big? Most
of mine are on sandstone/conglomerate sites, so I don't really expect
huge girths.

Dale