Photo By Scott Sturkol | Forestry Technician Tim Parry with the Forestry Office of the Directorate of Public...... read more read more
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A white pine tree estimated to be more than a century old was documented Dec. 1 by the Forestry Office of the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Natural Resources Branch in the Pine View Recreation Area at the installation.
Forestry Technician Timothy Parry with the Forestry Office took measurements and inventory of the tree, which is located along the La Crosse River next to Pine View Campground.
The tree measured at approximately 100-plus feet tall and measures 45 inches at the base of its trunk, Parry said.
“It’s easily the largest tree in that general area and probably in the recreation area,” Parry said.
“It certainly is a special tree and stands out from the other trees in that area.”
Fort McCoy Forester Charles Mentzel, also with the Forestry Office, said the Pine View Recreation Area tree is likely not the biggest on the installation, but certainly among the biggest.
“I believe our oldest white pines are along Silver Creek on South Post down by Young Air Assault Strip,” Mentzel said.
“Some of those by now should be around 125 to 135 years old or even older.”
Many of those white pines on South Post are also among the tallest, Mentzel said.
Parry said the Pine View Recreation Area white pine is healthy and well-fed because of its location on the river. It’s located right along a hiking trail, too, so many visitors to the campground and the recreation area have easy access to see it.
“I recently completed an inventory of trees all along the area where this tree is, and this one is special,” Parry said. “Just standing next to it, you can get the feeling of its size.”
The Pine View white pine also is not even close to being the oldest tree in Wisconsin. According to monumentaltrees.com, the oldest tree recorded currently is a bur oak in Waukesha County that is more than 300 years old. Similarly, the tree with the largest girth also is a bur oak in Waukesha County.
The forestry program at Fort McCoy covers tens of thousands of acres of forested land. Fort McCoy Forester Charles Mentzel said the mission of the forestry program plays an important role at the installation.
“From a forestry perspective, our mission here, first and foremost, is to serve the Army and create training environments that better serve our Soldiers who support future missions in defense of this country,” Mentzel said. “By thinning trees, for example, the ones left will grow larger faster. This gives troops overhead cover and again allows for better maneuver space.”
Fort McCoy was established in 1909 and its motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2021 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 410910 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 264 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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