Mandate
To identify, describe, monitor, and conserve the largest trees of each species within British Columbia, and to educate and enlist the help of its citizens in this task.
History
The original registry of big trees in BC was initiated by Randy Stoltmann. Many of the registry records are published in his book Guide to the Record Trees of British Columbia (Stoltmann 1993). The registry was established in 1986 by the B.C. Forestry Association, which became Forest Education B.C. and most recently FORED BC. Randy Stoltmann died in a tragic ski-mountaineering accident in May of 1994. Due to capacity constraints and to ensure the important work of the Big Tree Registry legacy continued, FORED BC donated all available files and photo records to the Association of BC Professional Foresters. Shortly before his death, Randy copied most of the registry records into a report for the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC). Using these records, the CDC became the new custodian of the registry until 2009, when it was transferred to the Ministry of Forests and Range. In the Fall of 2010, the BC BigTree Registry found its final home in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia.
It has been a tall order to transform the old paper records into the new online Registry. We are striving to correct any errors in the database and appreciate having these pointed out.
Can you help?
Many of the trees in the Registry haven’t been remeasured or re-located in over a decade. For these trees we are interested in getting updated measurements, access information, tree notes and photos. Of course, we are always interested in new submissions to the database. Many of BC’s big trees are yet to be discovered and recorded!