Photos

Nice photo of this majestic tree.

For TE members not familiar with this tree, most of Eastern Canada (and the Ottawa Valley) was populated by very large Eastern White Pine (pinus strobus) and it was the predominant species when the white man arrived to settle. It was harvested heavily in the 1800's and millions of trees were floated down the rivers in the Laurentians into the Ottawa river and down to Montreal where they were loaded on to ships bound for Europe. Few large trees remained by 1900. Tens of thousands of these trees were used for ships masts for the English navy. Today the wood is mostly used for millwork (window & door frames, mouldings, furniture and to some extent rustic flooring). It finished well and is more valuable than spruce or fir which are used for construction. A large tree as shown would have at least $2,000 of marketable wood product in it so it is understandable there is a demand.

Young trees were also attacked and devastated by a pine beetle. In the last 50 years it has been making a comeback and you can see it now in more abundance growing out on mountainsides above all other trees. Once the mature trees get above the regular forest canopy, they can cast their seeds on the wind further and farther than other species and they begin re-populating. Without relentless cutting the Ottawa valley will once again have this tree as the dominant species in a hundred years.

Between St. Jovite and Arundel Quebec you will see a 300+ year tree beside the road at Crystal Falls. As far as I know this is the largest tree in diameter in the Laurentians. If you look across the adjacent fields you will see hundreds of white pines starting from seeds from this old tree.

I will try and post a photograph as well.