An eastern cottonwood tree in northcentral Nebraska has been designated a National Champion Tree. At 85 feet tall, with a 120-foot canopy and 37.2-foot-around trunk, this century-old cottonwood is the largest of its kind in the United States.
These measurements have been verified by the National Champion Tree Program, an organization that identifies, measures, and protects the most impressive examples of America’s trees. Having the National Champion cottonwood is a boon for Nebraska’s Pibel Lake Recreation Area.
“Everything measured up,” Justin Evertson, green infrastructure coordinator for the Nebraska Forest Service, told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s the only national champion tree we have in Nebraska, and we’re very proud to have it designated as such.”
That designation has Wyoming’s arboreal enthusiasts envious. Although the Cowboy State isn’t renowned for its legendarily large trees, there’s an active effort to find its state and potential national champions.
A Little Jealous
Wyoming doesn’t have any National Champion trees right now. The state champion eastern cottonwood in Sheridan County has a larger trunk circumference than Nebraska’s national champion at 41.4 feet, but it is only 70 feet tall and has a 100-foot canopy.
“To be honest, I’m a little jealous of Nebraska’s national champion,” said Brady McNaughton, coordinator of Wyoming’s State Champion Trees program for the Wyoming Forestry Division. “Our largest state champion tree is smaller than their national champion.”
A scoring rubric for state and national champion trees determines their respective statuses. Wyoming’s highest-scoring state champion tree is a plains cottonwood in Albany County, which is 80 feet tall with a 111.5-foot canopy and a 33-foot trunk, giving it a score of 504.9 points.
“It’s the only tree above 500 points in our state,” McNaughton said.
It’s fitting that Wyoming’s highest scoring tree is also the official state tree, but the Nebraska national champion tree has it beat with a score of 561 points. That’s a lot of distance for a Wyoming tree to overtake, and McNaughton is skeptical that there’s a similar-sized cottonwood in the Cowboy State.
“There’s always the potential, but Wyoming’s trees are a little challenged by our tough climate,” he said. “Nebraska is a bit further east, so they've got some different things going on that make it easier for trees to get this large.”
Nevertheless, McNaughton thinks having a national champion tree in the neighborhood is exciting.
“I’m super happy about it,” he said. “A neighboring state with one of our iconic trees is now on the national champion tree list. I'd say it's a fantastic thing.”
Grassroots Effort
While it’s up to the National Champion Tree Program to make the measurements that determine which trees earn champion status, it starts with nominations to various state champion tree programs. McNaughton has spent the last year revamping Wyoming’s program to reinvigorate it.
“My main goal with the website refresh I did for our program was to make sure that my contact info was there,” he said. “If somebody wants to send me measurements for a potential state champion tree right away, they can absolutely do that.”
Landowners and outdoor recreation enthusiasts discover most state champion trees. McNaughton and other district foresters verify their measurements and update the database when a new champion is found.
“I’ve gotten three calls about potential champion trees in the last week,” he said. “I'm based here in Cheyenne, and it’s quite a haul to get to some place like Cody, so our district foresters go out and check out these trees. It's a cohesive effort between the division as a whole.”
Finding and verifying state and national trees is like a citizen science project. McNaughton enjoys the program's recreational and educational components and the pride that comes from finding new contenders for the state’s best trees.
“It’s a lot of fun for people who just want to find big trees, but it’s also an opportunity for education and expansion of forestry knowledge. We can look at how long this tree has been alive, how large it's gotten, its value for sequestering carbon and pulling pollutants out of the air.”
McNaughton hopes interest in the state champion tree program continues to grow, especially since it’s something that every Wyomingite can contribute to.
“You don’t need to be a subject matter expert to go out and find a tree bigger than any other tree you’ve seen before,” he said. “It’s a pertinent program that’s doing a lot for the Wyoming Forestry Division.”
Special Status
National Champion trees don’t have any special status or protections, but the bragging rights alone can do a lot for conservation and public awareness. Evertson said one of the reasons why Nebraska’s eastern cottonwood grew to its national proportions is that it’s been allowed to grow without disturbance for over 100 years.
“This tree is growing on a recreational lake managed by the Natural Resources District,” he said. “These cottonwoods typically start growing along wetlands, streams, and waterways, so our best guess is that tree has been there as long as the lake has been there, which we believe is probably since the late 1800s.”
Evertson said the cottonwood is in good health and growing in a remote area that doesn’t see much tourist traffic. Now that it’s a National Champion, the Nebraska Forest Service wants to ensure it continues to thrive and retain its title.
“It's on the side of the lake that doesn't get any disturbance,” he said. “You can't park near it and nobody's walking by it. It’s in really good shape for that kind of tree, and everyone’s proud of having it designated, so it’ll be getting extra attention to ensure it stays in good shape.
Evertson’s suggestion is for everyone to give the cottonwood a wide berth. It’s grown this well without any disturbance, so the best thing is to leave it undisturbed.
“My suggestion would be not to change a whole lot around it,” he said. “Don't pave, plow or run trucks around it. If we leave it as it is, it should last a long time.”
Branching Out
Wyoming now has no designated national champion trees, but that wasn’t always the case.
McNaughton said there used to be several in the Cowboy State, but they lost their status when the National Champion Tree Program was recently overhauled and relaunched.
“Wyoming doesn't have any nationally listed champions, but the national championship register still includes around ten Wyoming trees,” he said. “They’re not designated as champions, but they’re still serving as a tool to recognize some of the big, cool trees in Wyoming.”
The Wyoming State Champion Tree program has 58 trees in its register, including the “glamorous” examples of northern catalpa, American elm, and bur oak that still appear in the national championship register. McNaughton knows state champion trees in Wyoming are waiting to be found, nominated, and designated.
“One of the great things about these programs is that champion trees can be in our communities and towns,” he said. “You don't necessarily have to take a 30-mile backpacking trip into the wilderness to find an isolated tree. A champion tree could be growing on your street in Buffalo or Cheyenne.”
As more people find and nominate trees as potential state champions, the potential of finding the next national champion increases. McNaughton doesn’t want to take anything away from Nebraska, but there are plenty of different types of trees that could become Wyoming’s national champion.
“I don't think people would necessarily think of Wyoming when they think of interesting trees, but there’s a lot of magic out there,” he said. “Our state champion plains cottonwood was found and designated 35 years ago. Perhaps there aren't a lot of people who know that if they see a big tree, they can send it to me. There’s some big trees out there, and I think Wyoming could have a national champion growing somewhere.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
