Goodbye, Douglas. You are no longer the biggest fir tree in the United States, but you are still a big dinger.
Jack Williams of Camano Island owns the former national champion Douglas fir on a lot about 10 miles east of Index. It was judged by the American Forestry Association in Washington, D.C., in the late 1980s.
Its reign was short. In 1991, the association notified the former owner of the Index property that a Douglas fir in Douglas County, Ore., was the new national champion in the National Big Tree program.
Rats.
Nevertheless, to see the tree is an amazing experience. What a monumental specimen, and likely the biggest in Snohomish County.
It measures more than 35 feet around the base, the same circumference as my Toyota Corolla. Looking skyward at the fir, I had to step away and give my neck a good backward crank to take in the 225-foot height.
Sorry, but you can’t go see it. It’s on private property behind a locked fence.
But you can buy it. The lot is for sale for $162,000. It’s comes with community ownership of 6 acres of old-growth timber.
Be prepared if you buy the lot, because the tree has a secret following. Somehow, worshippers get to the base and leave candle stubs. The admirers seem to be a loving group who only want to bask in the shadow of the fir.
A born-again Christian, Williams understands the spiritual power of the tree. He saved it when he bought the property eight years ago.
Hard to imagine, but he said someone else wanted to buy the 70- by 100-foot lot, cut down the tree and slice it up with a portable sawmill. Williams said he couldn’t let a scalper take down timber that was already 300 years old when Christopher Columbus landed in America.
Friends told Williams about the Douglas fir. The Arlington High School graduate is retired from the Boeing Co. A former U.S. Marine, he owned a crabbing boat, worked as a boilermaker on the Alaska pipeline and toiled as a logger.
"I saw beautiful trees cut in Alaska," Williams said. "I thought what a waste. It was cut out and get out."
I can’t confirm where the Index tree is on the list of former national champions. Deborah Gangloff, executive director of the American Forestry Association, said the group publishes a book every two years with current champions.
There are three champion Douglas firs in the last publication, including three different types of Douglas firs. The Index tree has been bumped to at least third place.
Gangloff said they use a points formula for determining champions, including height, circumference and crown spread. The biggest tree in the country is a sequoia in California that weighs as much as 360 elephants. She said about half the national champions are on private property.
Potential buyers of the Index property will note that it’s nicely buffered by U.S. Forest Service land. It’s only a short walk to the Skykomish River. Williams wants a buyer who will cherish the tree.
"It’s unique," Williams said. "You can’t get another one."
Williams said he isn’t a radical tree hugger, but this one should be protected as it continues to grow for the next several hundred years.
"I’d guard it with my life," he said. "I want to see a family or company keep it forever."
Columnist Kristi O’Harran:
425-339-3451 or
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
