More than 2,300 miles away from Knoxville, General Sherman stands 275 feet high in the Giant Forest sequoia grove in California. It is one of hundreds of champion trees across the US that tower above homes, cemeteries, streets, and farms. The program behind the register of these remarkable trees now resides at the School of Natural Resources. The National Champion Tree Program moved its headquarters to the school in fall 2023 from the nonprofit conservation organization American Forests.
The program’s practice of recording America’s largest trees started eighty-three years ago as a competition to discover the largest living tree specimens in the nation. The hunt for these trees led to the first Champion Tree Registry in American Forests Magazine in 1940. The National Register of Champion Trees currently lists 561 trees, ranging from small understory species in the eastern deciduous forests to massive cacti flourishing in the southwestern desert.
Champion trees are identified based on a point system including the trunk circumference, height, and average crown spread. People nominate trees, and the National Champion Tree Program works with state-level Champion Tree programs to verify the submissions and their measurements. Verified trees are then added to the national register. Champion Trees are re-verified every ten years. State coordinators are working with the program to update the current register, which will be published online in late 2024, and the first round of public nominations for new champion trees will open in January 2025.
You can find a breakdown of the timeline at the Champion Tree Program’s website
The program’s original vision in the 1940s included establishing a nationwide laboratory for the study of forestry and trees. Being housed at a public land-grant university will advance that mission. “Through the university’s exceptional research capabilities, we’ll learn more about these gentle giants, how best to preserve their majesty for future generations, and how to help our newly planted trees become future champions,” says Jaq Payne, National Champion Tree Program director.
Payne became the program’s national director after serving as the Tennessee Champion Tree program director and earning a master’s degree in forestry from UT in 2023. He believes UTIA is uniquely positioned to be a hub for champion tree research. UTIA and American Forests leaders both agree. “The National Champion Tree Program moving to UTIA means it can continue protecting some of the largest living organisms while expanding the science of these trees through research,” says Keith Carver, UTIA senior vice chancellor and senior vice president.
“We could not be happier that the University of Tennessee’s School of Natural Resources will honor the rich legacy of the National Champion Tree Program and introduce innovative new ideas, energy, and science,” says Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests. “We also honor the thousands of tree seekers, coordinators, and others nationwide who have passionately supported this program and will help it embark on a new era embedded in one of America’s leading research institutions.” American Forests is providing $200,000 through April 2025 to support the program’s move to the school. The school also houses the state Champion Tree Program. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry managed the program until 2016.
“We’re excited to advance the legacy of the Champion Tree Program and administer this important and historical program for the entire country.”
-Don Hodges, School of Natural Resources director
Tennessee State Forester Heather Slayton says, “I could not be prouder of where the amazing individuals in the School of Natural Resources at UTIA have taken the state Champion Tree Program. Countless young professionals have learned valuable skills to improve their careers while putting Tennessee on the map for our majestic trees and well-run program. That the school now has the honor of managing the National Champion Tree Program continues Tennessee’s legacy of protecting, conserving, and enhancing our state’s forests.”
Urban Forestry Professor Sharon Jean-Philippe helped move the national program to UT and currently advises the Tennessee Champion Tree Program. She says it is an honor for the School to host both the national and state programs and to have Payne, her former master’s student and now graduate, be the national director. Jean-Philippe adds, “Developing opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations is an important part of the highimpact educational practices we provide through academic internships.”
An internship program is one of many initiatives Payne plans to use to educate the public on protecting large, mature trees. Education, information, and conservation are the program’s three strategies for a successful future. It will employ community and outreach programs to teach people about tree ecosystems and their long-ranging benefits.
The program hopes to preserve genetics from champion trees by working with regional, state, and local conservation initiatives. Payne sees it as an investment in the future. He adds, “It is our responsibility to give our grandchildren’s grandchildren clean air and water, fertile and productive soils, and an appreciation for the wonders of the natural world. Champion trees do all this and much more. They are worth investing time and energy into protecting and studying. Together, we will continue this vital work preserving some of the largest living organisms on the planet.”
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