Bounty hunters, take note: There’s a $500 reward out there for the first one who spots a wanted Coloradan.
A slight twist: This Coloradan is a tree – a Colorado blue spruce, the state tree. The Colorado Tree Coalition is offering the money to whoever can find a spruce that can set a record for biggest in the nation. The coalition is calling its campaign “Bringing Home the Blue.”
Right now the biggest Colorado spruce is in Utah. Yes, Utah, which on March 26 officially replaced the Colorado spruce as its state tree and made it the aspen.
Colorado’s largest blue spruce on the books is a 154-foot-tall one verified last year near Sawpit, about 12 miles west of Telluride. The size is determined using a point system based on height, circumference and branch spread. The Sawpit tree garnered 315 points, while the Utah tree, although only 127 feet tall, earned 328 points.
The state’s largest-known Douglas fir is located along the Hermosa Creek Trail.
On a related topic, April 25 is Arbor Day, and local tree enthusiasts have some plans. Details are in the works. Stay tuned.
