SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
There's something beautiful about a big, old tree, whether you come across it out in nature, camping or on a hike, or maybe just taking a walk, or maybe even in a yard. It makes you think, how old is it? How tall is it? Is this the biggest tree around? Well, in Maryland, there is an ongoing competition right now which is all about finding some of the state's biggest trees. Joli McCathran is the vice chair of the Maryland Big Tree Program. Thanks for joining us.
JOLI MCCATHRAN: Thank you, Scott.
DETROW: So the contest this year is new, but there is some history to the idea, right?
MCCATHRAN: Yes.
DETROW: Tell me about that.
MCCATHRAN: Maryland actually was the founder of the Big Tree Programs - even the National Champion Tree Program. In 1925, the first state forester, Fred Besley, developed a measuring process for the trees. And he did a little contest in Maryland - send in your trees. And people did. And he continued doing it over the years. And so Maryland started it, so we're really proud of that.
DETROW: You're bringing it back.
MCCATHRAN: Bringing it back. And it's our hundredth anniversary.
DETROW: So tell me the rules here. How do you go about finding a big tree? What are the parameters? What's eligible, what's not eligible?
MCCATHRAN: OK. Well, the first thing in this particular contest is the tree has to be 15 feet in circumference or more.
DETROW: OK.
MCCATHRAN: So the idea was to try and find more trees within state forests.
DETROW: So specifically within the state forest. What's your advice for people if they see a tree and they think, this might be big enough to count?
MCCATHRAN: To take a piece of string with you, wrap it around the trunk at 4 1/2 feet, and then mark it, knot it and then take that home and measure it. So you don't have to carry a tape measure if it's, you know, too big or too heavy, but make sure you can get that circumference because that's going to be the minimum number we need for the circumference.
DETROW: And what are you looking for? What's the overall point here? Is it just to get a better sense of the scope of older, bigger trees out there? Is it just to get people looking in this kind of way, in a way they might not notice these trees?
MCCATHRAN: I think you've hit the nail on the head for both. I think it's really fun for people. Some people are tree hunters. I'm personally not a tree hunter.
DETROW: No.
MCCATHRAN: I'll go measure them. If I find one along the way, of course...
DETROW: (Laughter).
MCCATHRAN: ...I'll measure it or take a look at it. But if somebody calls me or sends in from the website, I want to nominate a tree, then we will check it out. We'll get the basic circumference, so it tells us whether it can even become a champion.
DETROW: Do you have a sense what the range of ages in the Maryland forests are? How old are we talking? What's the extreme end?
MCCATHRAN: OK, we do not age them because of different growing conditions.
DETROW: OK.
MCCATHRAN: People ask this all the time. And we might give them a range. We might say, you know, 2- to 250 years, but we don't know. We certainly don't want to core the tree and count the rings because that could...
DETROW: Right.
MCCATHRAN: ...Cause way - much damage to the tree.
DETROW: Right. 'Cause that's the appeal - right? - the idea that this living thing is that old.
MCCATHRAN: What this thing has seen and been through.
DETROW: Yeah.
MCCATHRAN: And the most important rule of any champion tree you see is to touch it. If you can touch that bark...
DETROW: (Laughter).
MCCATHRAN: ...And you can feel that tree having lived this long, it's an amazing feeling. It just - it brings me back to Earth, and I feel like I'm in a cathedral every time I touch one of those trees.
DETROW: So you said you're not a tree hunter, but you clearly like trees.
MCCATHRAN: Oh, absolutely. I'm doing this by choice.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: What is your - do you have a specific favorite tree?
MCCATHRAN: I do. And that's really hard, but I had to come up with one, and it's the English elm.
DETROW: OK.
MCCATHRAN: It's called the Goshen elm. We have done a lot of research on this tree. We've measured it. We've turned it over to the National Arboretum for their input. And it is an English elm, so it's not native. We believe from the research it was brought over from Kent County, England.
DETROW: Wow.
MCCATHRAN: Now, we can't verify that, but that's what we believe by our past history on this tree.
DETROW: So if people are interested in this, so they have to, one, go to a state forest in Maryland.
MCCATHRAN: In this particular contest, yes.
DETROW: Two, bring some string with them.
MCCATHRAN: Yeah, it's a good idea.
DETROW: Any other tips for how to adjust your eyes so that you're looking for a tree that might be eligible? Like, should they look down or up?
MCCATHRAN: Up is always good. Most people don't look up, but it's the thickness that you're looking for. The circumference of that trunk is going to give it away.
DETROW: Yeah.
MCCATHRAN: And we are interested - really, if anybody's out searching, we are interested in any tree that's 300 points or more.
DETROW: And by points - this is a scoring system of circumference and height and width and things like that?
MCCATHRAN: Right. It's the circumference in inches, the height in feet and one quarter of the spread in feet.
DETROW: OK. You mentioned a cash prize before, but I don't think I know what the cash prize is. What are we talking here?
MCCATHRAN: I don't remember.
DETROW: (Laughter).
MCCATHRAN: I thought it was 500 for the...
DETROW: OK.
MCCATHRAN: ...Top one. I...
DETROW: The real prize is feeling that tree...
MCCATHRAN: Yes.
DETROW: ...And getting the sense of it.
MCCATHRAN: It - you know, when owners say, hey, is this a champion? - and I go, yeah, it is, they say, what do I get? I say, bragging rights...
(LAUGHTER)
MCCATHRAN: ...And a certificate from the Maryland Big Tree Program.
DETROW: That's Joli McCathran, the vice chair of the Maryland Big Tree Program. Thank you so much, and happy tree hunting.
MCCATHRAN: Thank you, Scott.
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