SOUTH PARIS — Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District is looking for help tracking down the most impressive trees in the county.
The district keeps a register of big trees in the county, cataloging the largest specimen of each native species. Old trees that have withstood the test of time, disease, and human activities are truly something to behold, and finding one is very exciting – keep your eyes open while you are out and about this summer for trees to nominate.
There are 22 species yet to be nominated, many of which are smaller species of trees that may be found in wet areas, along streams and ponds. Here are a few clues to help you find some of these elusive trees:
Jack Pine could be found in the area around Upton.
Sweet Birch might be found from Rumford and Newry south along the banks of streams or moist, rich upland soils and on younger trees the bark has a very pronounced flavor of wintergreen.
American Hornbeam might be found from Waterford northeast to Greenwood, Woodstock, Milton and Rumford.
Black Tupelo might be found from Otisfield north and east to Norway, Sumner and Canton. It has also been reported on the South side of Pleasant Mountain in Denmark on flat, open, wet areas. Black Tupelo, though not large, can be as old as 500 years.
Sassafras might be found in the Waterford, Sweden, Stoneham area.
There are great resources online to help with tree identification. Nominators of winning trees will receive T-shirts and copies of Forest Trees of Maine, Centennial Edition 1908-2008.
The district will accept nominations until Sept. 30.
For more information, or to find out how to nominate a tree, visit oxfordcountyswcd.org/oxford-register-of-big-trees.
