Rare Eastern Hemlock May Be Biggest One Yet

Photo Courtesy of Steve Kohls/ Brainerd Dispatch

Giant Eastern Hemlock found in Brainerd may be the largest one yet.

At the address 723 N. Fourth Street in Brainerd, you can find an Eastern Hemlock and Dr. Roland Kehr.

Dr. Roland Kehr and his late wife Pat, moved to the address 40 years ago.  Roland promised his wife someday he would get the tree measured as the couple was instructed the tree could be a possible state record.

According to the Brainerd Dispatch, Eastern Hemlocks are defined by the DNR as rare and imperiled trees.  The trees were listed as endangered in 2013 in part because of the bug Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, which according to Owlcation, took out 50 percent of hemlocks in 11 states in 1950.

The current state record Eastern Hemlock is near Isle.  The tree has a circumference of 52 inches, height of 65 feet, and a crown measuring 25 feet.

Forester Alex Brothen measured the Kehr tree at a circumference of 87.5 inches, height of 58 feet, and a crown measuring 51.5 feet.

The state will provide an equation to determine the winning tree.  Right now the Isle tree is at 123 points and the Kehr tree is at an approximate score of 158.2.

The winning tree will be entered in the Big Tree Registry of Minnesota as a state record.