A majestic responsibility.

We all face the challenge of maintaining the balance between preserving our natural resources and accommodating growth and development. At Davey, we work to maintain that balance every day as we care fur America's forests--forests in urban and residential settings, in utility rights-of-way, and in parks and public areas. The "why" of drawing attention to the need to preserve our forests is obvious; the Big Tree program is one answer to the question of "how" to support the effort. We know that the spotlight the National Register of Big Trees shines on nature's most magnificent specimens furthers the effort to preserve their less dramatic cousins. We are proud to be affiliated with AMERICAN FORESTS, an organization that shares our concern for the health of America's trees. With our sponsorship of the National Register of Big Trees and our continuing partnership in AMERICAN FORESTS' Global Releaf campaign, Davey and AMERICAN FORESTS celebrate nature's giants and acknowledge the majesty of nature.

R. Douglas Cowan, Chairman and CEO, The Davey Tree Expert Company

For a hundred years AMERICAN FORESTS has been the organization of record on special trees. We have kept the National Register of Big Trees since 1940, when both professional foresters and the public expressed concern over the loss of not only these giants, but larger trees everywhere, including those in our cities and towns. AMERICAN FORESTS happily accepted the challenge to recognize and protect champion trees, joined in the 1980s by our fellow tree lovers at The Davey Tree Expert Company. Champion trees embody the myriad of benefits we get from mature trees. They store more carbon, provide more oxygen, shelter and feed more wildlife, and hold more soil in the face of wind and water. These champs stand tall as symbols of the need for improved forest conservation. Our job is to give trees what they need to do their best for us. If we can't preserve them, how can we protect the environment?

Although national and state champions are the biggest members of their species as determined by AMERICAN FORESTS' measurement guidelines, it does not mean they are necessarily the prettiest, the strongest, or even the healthiest. We have lost too many champions to Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight, and oak wilt to believe that. Instead, these are the luckiest trees. They have successfully avoided being cut down, blown around, or hit by a car. They have quietly hidden deep in the woods or laid low in the backyards of suburbia.

In this Register we expose these trees for all to see. But with that exposure comes responsibility. While AMERICAN FORESTS does not provide exact locations or directions, those who want to find these trees badly enough, often can. It is our hope that all who read these pages will pledge not to disturb the majesty and fragility of these champion trees. Nat to kill or maim, hack or girdle, or wound by climbing with spikes or cutting limbs for profit. Not to love these trees to death--like the professor who cut down the oldest living bristlecane pine just to see how old it was. Misguided science is just as bad an excuse to wound trees as malevolence. For those who break this vow, remember the curse of the Druids: to live forevermore in a land with no trees.

Deborah Gangloff, Executive Director, AMERICAN FORESTS