We are always on the lookout for big trees.  Please contact Andy Sawyer, 1117 State St. St. Joseph, MI   (269)-930-9698 andy@brookviewschool.org

The Big Tree Program of the Michigan Botanical Club started soon after the organization of the club in 1941.  Paul Thompson, affiliated with the Cranbrook Institute of Science, became the state's Big Tree Coordinator and served in the capacity for over forty years until his death in 1994.  Many individuals, mostly Michigan Botanical Club members, worked with Paul over the years as he set about discovering, measuring, and recording Michigan's biggest trees and shrubs.  Champion-sized trees were reported to American Forests, nominated for National Champion status, and subsequently listed in the "National Register of Big Trees" issued every two years by American Forests.

Elwood Ehrle, from Western Michigan University, began working with Paul Thompson in 1991.  They decided to prepare a series of short articles for publication in The Michigan Botanist.