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Commission narrows big-tree contest to categories: maples, spruce and pine
Summary
The commission discussed the structure and species categories for the 2025 Big Tree Contest, proposing category-based awards (maple, spruce, pine) rather than open-species judging and addressing identification and submission procedures.
Commissioners discussed how to structure the 2025 Big Tree Contest, concluding that focusing on categories rather than an open-species competition would simplify judging and reduce misidentification issues.
Members discussed options including awarding the biggest tree by species categories (for example, biggest maple, biggest spruce, biggest pine) or maintaining a broader big-tree competition. Several commissioners expressed concern that the general public often misidentifies species (red vs. silver vs. sugar maple), which would complicate judging if the contest required precise species identification. Commissioners proposed allowing entrants to submit photos and addresses for verification and placing the burden of species verification on the commission during field checks rather than on entrants.
The commission tentatively agreed to three categories for the coming year: maples, spruce and an evergreen/pine category, with the option to rotate categories in future years. Staff agreed to include clear guidance on the flyer and online submission form about required photos and that final qualification would be determined by commission reviewers on site. The commission also discussed posting results and scores on the city website and making the submission process transparent to entrants.
The commission did not set final contest rules that night but agreed on the category approach and assigned staff to prepare flyer language and the online submission form.
