Champion Trees Found in Liberty County

DAYTON, September 19, 2006 - The state of Texas recently recognized a special pignut hickory tree located in the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge. The Texas Big Tree Registry, sponsored by Texas Forest Service, recently certified this pignut hickory is a Champion Tree, the largest known tree of its kind in the state of Texas!

The tree has a trunk circumference of 126 inches, a height of 97 feet, and a crown spread of 57 feet, totaling up to 237 points on the Champion Tree index. “This is a fantastic looking tree,” said Stuart Marcus, Refuge Manager of the Trinity River Refuge. “We thought it was a champion and we are glad to have it confirmed.”
This isn’t the first Champion Tree for the refuge though.

In 2004, an eastern hophornbeam, also known as an ironwood tree, was recognized as the largest tree of its kind in Texas. This tree has a trunk circumference of 53 inches, a height of 49 feet, and a crown spread of 43 feet, totaling up to 113 points on the tree index!

Even though these trees are considered Champion Trees in Texas, they are not biggest trees in the American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees. The largest known pignut hickory has a trunk circumference of 209 inches, a height of 90 feet, and a crown spread of 125 feet, totaling up to 330 points on the tree index. The largest known ironwood has a trunk circumference of 115 inches, a height of 74 feet, and a crown spread of 111 feet, totaling up to 217 points on the tree index.
“It is not surprising to have two Champion trees on the refuge,” said Marcus. “The National Wildlife Refuge system is known for its quality habitat for fish, wildlife and plants.”

The Trinity River NWR, located in Liberty County, was established in 1994 to restore and maintain the bottomland hardwood forest of the lower Trinity River basin. They currently manage nearly 21,000 acres and can be contacted at (936) 336-9786 with their office at 1351 N. Main St, Liberty, TX 77575. Find refuge information on their website at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/trinityriver/. If you are interested in finding the Texas Big Tree Register to see if you might have any champion trees on your property, go to http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. Visit the Service's website at http://www.fws.gov.

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