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A biologist has found what is possibly one of the widest trees ever recorded in BC
Ian Thomas measured a red cedar from west to north of Vancouver, BC, which was between 4.8 and 5.8 meters in diameter.
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If Thomas ’preliminary measurements are correct, the giant he found in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park would barely fit inside the cockpit of a Boeing 747.
The diameter of the tree at chest height (DBH) has yet to be officially verified and could end up being up to one meter less than its 5.8-meter calculation, he said, depending on how it is measured in a rugged and steep slope.
A western red cedar growing in a remote part of North Vancouver’s Lynn Headwaters Regional Park is estimated to be 4.8 to 5.8 meters in diameter, depending on the method used to calculate the diameter at chest height ( DBH). (Colin Spratt)
Regardless of its exact size, there is no doubt that the massive tree is very, very old.
“It came to the end of a while of about 10 hours,” Thomas told Gloria Macarenko, presenter of CBC’s On The Coast, Monday. “I spend much of my time studying satellite maps and government data sets, and just walking through these amazing, threatened ancient forests that we’re lucky enough to have, some of them, here in BC.”
He and his colleague Colin Spratt christened the tree “awesome” they found in a forest of “primordial” red cedars The North Coast Giant.
The tree is found in the territories of the Tsleil-Waututh nation. Its director of treaties, land and resources said Western red cedars have been used by his people for everything from canoes, clothing and buildings to ceremonial and medicinal uses.
Large tree finder Colin Spratt finds a very large western red cedar in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park in North Vancouver. He and biologist Ian Thomas measured the diameter at chest height (DBH) to 5.8 meters, although another method could reduce it to 4.8 meters, making it still one of the trees. largest of BC records. (Ian Thomas)
“Everything from roots to branches and trunks,” Gabriel George said in a telephone interview. “For our people, they are medicine … Cedar is sacred to us.”
Knowing the find made his “heart happy” and he hoped he would remind others of the importance of the few ancient forests left in BC.
“When I saw that picture and heard that story, it was very stimulating,” he said.
Although this particular cedar is located within an already protected area, Thomas said it is a reminder of how blessed the province is to have these natural wonders.
“You’re finding one of the largest and oldest living things on this planet,” he said. “It’s almost like seeing a blue whale or a northern white rhino, this piece of this rich, wild world.”
According to BC University professor of forestry Robert Guy, large western red cedars are home to “ecosystems in most of their branches.”
“A tree this size has to be very old,” he said. “They can reach 1,000 or 2,000 years. We have trees on the north coast that are approaching 2,000 years.”
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Because red cedars go hollow as they age, it is often impossible to count their inner rings like other trees.
According to the Big Tree Registry at the University of BC, a 5.8-meter-diameter tree would be the fourth widest on record.
The top seven above the record are on Vancouver Island, the widest being a six-meter western red cedar in Pacific Rim National Park.
At Lynn Headwaters, the largest diameter recorded for a tree was 5.1 meters, also a red cedar. Any tree over 4.8 meters wide would be in the top 13 in the province.
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Could not contact the registry to comment on Thomas’ preliminary measurements. He said a member of his committee is in the process of verifying the size of the tree.
According to the photographs, Guy said, the tree looks unhealthy, a phenomenon he said is becoming more common in BC.
“Red cedar has shown more signs of distress in recent years than other … species in times of drought,” he said. “That is probably related to climate change.
“So I guess another thing about these trees is that they remind us that they’ve been through a lot of things, but maybe the next hundred years or so won’t happen.”
The story was written by David P. Ball, originally published for CBC News.