Florida hurricanes down champs

American Forests, Spring, 2005

Floridians are mourning the loss of some national champion trees in the wake of hurricanes that pummeled the state last fall. In the 2004 National Register of Big Trees, Florida led the nation with its 163 national champs. With its tropical climate, Florida is also home to some trees found nowhere else in the country.

Among the casualties reported by TCPalm.com was the national champion south Florida slash pine. The 222-point champ, located in Vero Beach, stood 68 feet tall with a 138-inch circumference (it took three people with outstretched arms to encircle it, according to TCPalm.com) and a 64-foot crown spread. Dale Armstrong of the Florida Division of Forestry speculated the tree was left by loggers because it was crooked and isolated, TCPalm.com said.

Also damaged by the storms: a national co-champ dahoon near Ft. Pierce. Forty feet tall with a 55-inch circumference and 36-inch crown spread, the little giant weighed in at 104 points in the last Register. The storms split the tree in half, TCPalm.com said. The hurricanes also killed or damaged several of Florida's state champion trees.

AMERICAN FORESTS is currently accepting nominations for the 2006 National Register of Big Trees. For information: www.americanforests.org