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Big Trees of Middlesex
Big Tree Report Form
Is there a tree growing on your property with bragging rights? Might there be a state record sugar maple or white pine out there in the hills of our town? The Middlesex Conservation Commission thinks it would be fun to compile a list of the biggest trees of each species growing in Middlesex but we need your help! If you think you’ve got a particularly large tree on your property or know of one on public land in Middlesex, the Commission would like to hear about it.
Vermont’s largest trees are documented by the Vermont Tree Society who maintains a list of the largest for each species. Candidate trees receive a score based on a compilation of three measurements – tree height, circumference and crown spread. The tree of each species with the highest score is the current champ. We envision a simpler process for the Middlesex Big Tree List needing only a circumference measurement, which is the easiest to make. All you’ll need is some sort of tape measure that you can wrap around the tree approximately 4.5 feet above the ground surface. Since most of us may be more used to thinking of tree diameter than circumference we’ll convert the circumference measurement to a diameter and include both on the list. If it looks like a Middlesex tree might have a shot at being the state champ the additional necessary measurements could then be taken.
To submit a candidate tree for the list, the Commission would like the information included on the form linked above. The information can be mailed to Dave Shepard at the following address:
Dave Shepard
16 McCullough Hill Road
Middlesex, VT 05602
Once records of some trees have been received, a list will be posted on the town website. The list will be updated periodically as records of more trees species or larger specimens of the same species are received.
By the way, the Vermont champion sugar maple has a circumference of 238 inches (75 inch diameter) and is located in Waterbury while the largest white pine has a circumference of 201 inches (64 inch diameter) and is growing in Londonderry.
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