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Rare Brewer spruce joins heritage list Comment By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Apr. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Apr. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News A member of a tree species that grows only in this corner of the world will join a list of esteemed Oregon trees this month, part of the Oregon Heritage Tree program. It's the rare Brewer spruce, or weeping spruce, with a range entirely in the Klamath Mountain province of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. The specific nominee is called the T.J. Howell tree, for the man who discovered the variety in 1884, said Roger Brandt, a Cave Junction historian and promoter of tourism for the Illinois Valley. Brandt nominated the tree. The tree, more than 120 feet tall, grows next to the T.J. Howell Botanical Drive, connecting Eight Dollar Road with the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, about a quarter-mile past the trailhead to Babyfoot Lake, 16 miles from the Redwood Highway. The drive suffered some flood damage at milepost 12 from a couple of years back, but it's passable, according to the U.S. Forest Service. "It's a great tree, and it's easily accessible," Brandt said. "This is a great program, and it ties into the much bigger economic opportunity for this county. The state invests a tremendous amount of money in promoting historical markers and heritage trees." Brandt, chairman of the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee, will speak at the 2015 dedication, set for 1 p.m. Friday, April 10, at the Oregon Department of Forestry's Salem Headquarters, 2600 State St., Building C. Brandt takes pleasure in discussing the history of Howell and the Brewer spruce, both rare gems of Oregon. Thomas Jefferson Howell was a mostly illiterate pioneer botanist who roamed the Northwest after the Civil War, and his boots trod much of the botanically diverse Klamath Province. "This area is where he found a lot of his plants, that had never been identified before," Brandt said. The Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana) was the last tree species identified in North America when Howell first recorded it in 1884, near present-day Page Mountain. He named the tree after William Henry Brewer, who was chief botanist of the California Division of Mines and Geology beginning in 1860. The 352-acre Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area around the popular lake was set aside in 1966 primarily to protect Brewer spruce. Many of those trees were burned in the 2002 Biscuit Fire, but a 2012 survey by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest showed many small seedlings growing. Howell's influence is commemorated with the T.J. Howell Botanical Drive, the road leading to Babyfoot Lake and the Kalmiopsis Wilderness — and now the tree in his name. Other nearby trees previously named Oregon Heritage Trees include a Jeffrey pine at the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base at the Illinois Valley Airport south of Cave Junction, and a Port Orford cedar at the site of the former CCC camp by the Grayback Campground 12 miles east of Cave Junction. Brandt also has nominated the Agness Sawyer big-leaf maple tree adjacent to It's a Burl in Kerby, and another Jeffrey pine along Rough and Ready Creek south of Cave Junction. According to the American Forests 2012 National Register of Big Trees, the largest Brewer spruce is growing near Tanner Lake (known as Tannen Lake for many years) about 15 miles east of the T.J. Howell tree. It is 120 feet tall with a 237-inch circumference. Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or [email protected]. By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Apr. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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