Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance have located, climbed, and measured the largest spruce tree in the famed Carmanah Valley. The near-record-sized tree - whose mammoth trunk forks into multiple stems reminiscent of the multi-headed hydra of Greek mythology - grows protected within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park in Ditidaht territory on Vancouver Island. The tree was identified by AFA’s TJ Watt and Ian Thomas while exploring Carmanah in the spring of 2022 and climbed later in the fall with the help of professional arborists with Bartlett Tree Experts. The images and videos are being released for the first time to celebrate Earth Week.
The towering tree measures 12.9 ft (3.89 m) wide near its base and 233 ft (71 m) tall - as tall as a 21-story building - with an average crown spread of 72 ft (22 m). This makes it the largest tree in the Carmanah Valley overall (despite the famed “Carmanah Giant” being taller) and the fourth-largest Sitka spruce on record in BC, according to the BC Big Tree Registry. Two blue whales laid end-to-end would still not equal the height of this immense tree, which is one of the largest living organisms on Earth. Its immense, multi-stemmed crown has garnered it the nickname the “Hydra Spruce.”
“This giant is by far the most spectacular Sitka spruce tree that we’ve come across during our decades-long search for big trees in BC,” noted AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “We had been big tree hunting in the valley for two days as part of my work as a National Geographic Explorer when, just before dark, a massive crown caught our eye in the distance. Right away, we knew we had found something special. Most Sitkas are tall and straight like a Roman pillar, but this one had an enormous trunk that forked into five major stems, creating a sprawling canopy like the head of a hydra. Near the base, it would have taken seven or eight of us to wrap our arms around the trunk. Seeing it from the ground was one thing, but we knew that to truly highlight the tree’s grandeur, we would need to climb to the top.”
The Carmanah Valley has long been famous as one of the most superlative old-growth Sitka spruce forests left in Canada. Beyond the Hydra Spruce, it is home to Canada’s tallest known tree, the Carmanah Giant, which towers 315 feet (96 metres) in the sky. The Carmanah Valley was the focus of intense conservation efforts in the early 1990s when it was imminently threatened by logging. Big tree hunter and conservationist the late Randy Stoltmann was a particular champion of protecting this exceptional valley. After intense public pressure, the entire watershed was eventually protected as a provincial park alongside sections of the nearby Walbran Valley. The Carmanah is now celebrated as one of the most magnificent old-growth forests on Earth, with visitors coming from across the world to walk through its vast pillars of enormous trees.
This climbing project was part of AFA's TJ Watt’s work as a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer, supported by the Trebek Initiative. This grant supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers, and educators with the goal of using storytelling to ignite “a passion to preserve” in all Canadians. Watt was among the first round of recipients in 2021.
All tree climbing and drone filming was done with permission from local governments.
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