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Birch Champion
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Home of champion trees
Sandpoint is home to more than 50 species of trees, but did you know that it is also home to two National Champion trees? The nation’s largest inland Western paper birch is located in Sandpoint, as is the greatest inland specimen of Rocky Mountain maple. The maple was identified in 1989 as the largest of its kind at 53 inches circumference and 80 feet tall. The birch is more than 13 and a half feet in circumference and 75 feet tall. Its thick trunk quickly splits into numerous tops that contribute to its massive crown spread of 60 feet.
The Rocky Mountain maple is in an area difficult to access on a wooded hillside above Bottle Bay. But the birch may easily be viewed at 105 Gooby Rd. on the northwest outskirts of town in Pat Gooby’s yard.
To find out more about these two National Champions, visit www.championtrees.org.
– Dennis Nicholls
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