Big Trees in Prince William

In 1990 the Virginia Dept. of Forestry initiated a big tree registry for Prince William. Today Prince William's Dept. of Public Works manages the program, with support from Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

This team effort needs the help of observant citizens throughout the county to find Prince William's woody giants. Each nomination of a big tree is evaluated using national standards in order to name the county champion. Each champion is listed in the Prince William County “Big and Historic Tree Registry”. If your nomination is selected as the “County Champion", you will receive credit as that champion's nominator.

• To nominate a tree, accurate measurements of the tree's circumference, average crown spread, and height should be provided on the standard nomination form.

Three trees in Prince William are included on the Virginia Big Tree Registry:

• Shumard Oak (Quescus Shumardii) located at the base of a steep hill at the confluende of Kettle Run and Broad Run
• Alder ( Alnus serrulata) located in Prince William Forest Park
• Hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli) located at the Evergreen Country Club

Links

• Big Tree Registries
  • National Register of Big Trees
• Prince William County Champion and Historic Tree Registry
  • List of Nominations
• Virginia Big Tree Program
• Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest - some of the largest trees in the United States east of the Mississippi are found at this site in Robinsville, N.C.
• Famous Big Trees
  • General Sherman Tree in the Sequoia National Forest - considered to be the largest tree in the world
  • Angel Oak in Charleston, S.C. - considered the oldest living tree east of the Rockies
  • Treaty Oak in Austin, Texas - considered to be 500 years old, with a spread of 127 feet before being damaged by vandalism in 1989.
  • Living Relicts: The Biogeography of Three Giant Trees - Stratosphere Giant in Humboldt State Park (CA), Coastal Redwood and the Dawn Redwood
• How Tall Can Trees Grow?
• Tree-Sitter Recounts Life In the Clouds; Julia Butterfly Hill is tearful and triumphant; San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 20 1999