Whether it’s a giant white pine lording over acres of forestland or an ancient maple in your neighbor’s front yard, there’s something fascinating about a big tree. These towering sentinels, their bark weathered and roots twisted, speak of decades, perhaps even centuries of patient, slow growth.
This summer, people will be seeking out these special trees all over Penobscot County for the first ever Penobscot County Big Tree Contest, a friendly countywide competition co-sponsored by the Maine Forest Service and Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District.
“It’s open to anyone. If you’re out in the middle of the woods and you see a tree, you can nominate it,” Amy Polyot, district manager for the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District, said.
Running from May 15 to Sept. 15, the contest tasks the public with finding the largest trees of 66 native and naturalized species of trees in Penobscot County.
“We’ll have one grand champ, but we could possibly have 66 winners, depending on how many people nominate trees,” Polyot said.
Each person who nominates a winning tree will receive a “Penobscot County Biggest Tree” T-shirt, provided by the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District. The owner of the tree will receive a certificate for their tree, as well as a “Forest Trees of Maine” book produced and provided by the Maine Forest Service. The owner of the tree also will be invited to attend the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District annual banquet in the fall.
“I think it’s something people will get behind and get excited about, something kind of fun to do for the summer,” said Maine Forest Service district forester Terri Coolong, who covers several Penobscot County towns, including Bangor.
People searching for and documenting “big trees” in the United States dates back to 1940 with the establishment of the National Big Tree Program by American Forests, which claims to be the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country. This national big trees register — officially called the American Forests Champion Trees national register — contains 781 national champions for different tree species living in the country.
The Maine Register of Big Trees started in 1958 is produced by the Maine Department of Conservation, Maine Forest Service in cooperation with the Pine Tree State Arboretum.
“Typically we find that most really big trees are lawn trees that people have had growing near their houses for years and years and kind of taken care of,” Coolong said. “When they’re measured, a big part of it is the crown spread. If the tree is in the forest, the crown is crowded in [by other trees]. If it’s on a lawn, there’s a lot of room for those leaves.”
While everyone knows a big tree when they see it, determining if a tree is actually a “champion tree” is a very technical thing. Each nominated tree is given a point value derived from a “big tree” formula that is used nationally. To calculate a tree’s point value, American Forests uses the following equation: trunk circumference (inches) + height (feet) + ¼ average crown spread (feet) = total points.
However, people looking to participate in the Penobscot County Big Tree Contest do not need to make these calculations to nominate a tree. All you need to do is take a few pictures of the tree and fill out a one-page nomination form with the species of tree, location (GPS coordinates) and the contact information of the nominator. And, if the tree is not on your personal property, you must also acquire permission from the landowner to nominate their tree, then provide the landowner’s contact information on the nomination form so the Maine Forest Service can follow up with them.
“We find that most people are fine with having their trees nominated because, you know, it’s kind of cool to have the biggest tree in the county,” Coolong said.
Sometimes the landowner requests that the exact location of the tree not be publicized, and the Maine Forest Service complies with their wishes, publicizing only the town in which the champion tree was found.
All nominations for Penobscot County big trees will be sent to Coolong, who will visit each tree to take measurements and determine whether it’s a champion tree for the county.
“We wanted people to start looking now,” Coolong said, “to be thinking about it as the leaves start coming on. It’s much easier to ID trees when there are leaves on them.”
Other Maine counties, including Somerset and Franklin counties, have held Big Tree contests, but this is the first time Penobscot County has held the contest.
“We’re hoping to make this a staple and do it every year,” Polyot said. “With forests covering 90 percent of the state, this is a good way to get people out to see what different species are out there.”
To learn more about the contest and download the Maine big tree nomination form, visit the Facebook page for the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District at facebook.com/penobscotswcd; visit the Maine Forest Service website for the program at maine.gov/dacf/mfs/policy_management/project_canopy/programs/big_trees.html; or call Amy Polyot at 947-6622, ext. 3, or email her at amy.polyot@penobscotswcd.org, and she will email you a nomination form.