image: The timeline of registers for the National Champion Tree Program dates back to 1940 and goes through the present day including species such as the National Champion Kentucky Yellowwood that is growing in New Hampshire.
Credit: Photo courtesy National Champion Tree Program.
Whether strolling through the woods or taking a rest from outdoor labors, autumn is a time when people contemplate the value of our trees and forests. The curious can now also explore the historical documents of the nation’s biggest trees dating back to the 1940s online, in one place, for the first time. The National Champion Tree Program at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has compiled historical records dating back to the program’s inception.
“We are thrilled to release this compilation of more than 80 years of big tree history,” says Jaq Payne, director of the National Champion Tree Program at the UT Institute of Agriculture School of Natural Resources. “These registers are a time capsule, showing us past monarchs of nature and how people have written about big trees in the past.” The registers are listed by year with some featuring different milestones such as the 50th anniversary in 1990 or the first online version to replace the print version in 2010, which was not well received by big tree fans. The records include notes about changes in the registers over time along with messages and letters.
“When this program started in the early 1940s, tree-lovers were voicing concerns about massive deforestation due to war efforts, and some early recognition of pests and diseases,” Payne adds. “Now, around 85 years later, our forests and trees continue to face threats of a different kind — an abundance of pests and pathogens, storms of increasing intensity and frequency, and pressures from thoughtless and ecologically unsound development.” Along with collecting data on big trees, the program works with communities, government agencies, universities and conservation groups on preserving them in urban and rural landscapes.
Payne hopes the compilation shows how big trees connect people to the past and the future. “Not only are they living witnesses to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years of history, but when properly cared for, their lifespans can extend far beyond us into the lives of our grandchildren’s grandchildren,” Payne notes. “Our choices today determine what our landscape will look like in 100 years.”
The release of the historical documents comes as the program marks two years at the University of Tennessee after moving from American Forests in 2023. People can find the latest register from 2024 at the end of the historical registers’ timeline. If you know a potential tree for future registers, the program is still taking nominations through December 1.
The UTIA School of Natural Resources focuses on a mastery learning approach, emphasizing practical, hands-on experiences. The school’s faculty, staff and students advance the science and sustainable management of our natural resources through various programs of the UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA).
UTIA is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.
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