Cook Forest.

This weekend I along with several of my colleagues (Alan Krieg, Arch Authenreit, Rob Kruljac and Mick Stabile) had the opportunity to travel to Cook Forest State Park to measure trees via tape drop. David Rohm of Wild Excellence Productions had teamed up with us as well in order to capture footage for an upcoming documentary he is producing about the  park and how Hemlock Wooly Adelgod is affecting it.

We conducted 4 tape drops in the short day that we were there (averaging a tape drop every two hours), and although we had the opportunity to climb in a beautiful forest, we certainly didn't set any records. On a positive note, all three of the hemlocks we climbed and measured were free of any HWA infestation.

The findings:
White Pine: 134'11", 10' CBH
Hemlock: 127'1", 10'3" CBH
Hemlock: 119'7", 9'5" CBH
Hemlock: 118', 8'6" CBH

Our efforts were concentrated at the southern end of the park, in the middle of the fire tower road loop and behind the river cabins. Both areas were drainages in the 1500' elevation range. Although we were aware of superlative trees existing that had been measured in the past, our goal was discover something new, an unrealistic goal with only one day for measuring!

This park is beautiful and the forest here is mesmerizing. I can not wait to return for more exploration. Stay tuned for a video to follow.