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See Champion Sitka Spruce at Cape Meares Refuge
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| Sitka Spruce, Cape Meares NWR, Oregon
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| Photo credit: Bob Reed/Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge.
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Oregon's state champion Sitka
spruce, the largest known representative of its kind, is located on Cape
Meares National Wildlife Refuge. It stands 144 feet tall. The state designated
the Cape Meares spruce as champion after winter storms toppled the Klootchy
Creek spruce in December 2007. The Klootchy Creek spruce held the title
of national champion Sitka spruce for 34 years, and was the first tree
to be designated an Oregon State Heritage Tree.
Knowing that the Klootchy Creek spruce was in decline because of a huge cavity exposed from a previous storm, two arborists, Brian French and Will Koomjian, led expeditions to climb and measure the largest trees of each species in the Northwest. They wanted to raise awareness about the importance of trees and the sensitive ecosystems that surround them. French thinks the tree is probably about 750 to 800 years old.
The Cape Meares spruce is protected from harvest because it is located in a national wildlife refuge. Cape Meares Refuge was established in 1938 to protect a remnant patch of coastal old growth forest and the surrounding rocky cliff habitat used by seabirds as breeding habitat.
Visitors can see the Cape Meares Sitka spruce by hiking a short trail that branches off from the Oregon Coast Trail, which meanders through the heart of the old-growth forest on the refuge. Cape Meares Refuge is located along the Three Capes Scenic Route approximately 10 miles west of the town of Tillamook.
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