Metolius Doug stands as a silent sovereign

Camp Sherman residents are proud to announce they have a new national champion living among them.

They've been rooting for him all along, but now that he has achieved high honor, there won't be any parades. No one will fashion a crown, and a ceremonial belt isn't practical for one whose waist measurement is 24 feet.

Actually, the Camp Sherman folks prefer to keep their new champ a well- guarded secret, so don't ask for his address. He can't give autographs anyway, nor will he speak to visitors.

This illustrious resident of the Metolius Basin is a Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir tree whose trunk is 24 feet around. He stands 114 feet tall, has an average crown (branches) spread of 62 feet, and with another couple of scientific measurements, has amassed a total of 425 championship "points," more than any other Rocky Mountain Doug Fir in the United States.

Metolius Doug was nominated for the honor by Mark Corbet, a big- tree hunter who lives in Redmond and works as a Forest Service smokejumper. He has other champion- tree discoveries to his credit as well.

Corbet's findings were verified by David Priest of the Sisters Ranger District, and submitted to Brian Ballou, publications specialist for the Oregon Department of Forestry and coordinator of the Oregon Register of Big Trees.

Metolius Doug recently took the crown after his predecessor, located in the Ochoco National Forest, toppled.

Actually, this is the second time Metolius Doug has been the national champion. He was unseated years ago when Ochoco Doug was discovered among old- growth trees.

Charlie Morris, retired district engineer of the Sisters Ranger District, recalled to The Nugget that during Metolius Doug's first reign, a plaque had been posted on him noting that he was the national champion Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir.

Frightened for the big tree's safety, Charlie told the powers- that- be in the ranger district to remove the sign ASAP. He had seen the stumps of several other biggest trees in the forest after trophy hunters had felled them, and he didn't want that to happen to Metolius Doug. The plaque came down. It won't be replaced.

Ann Sullivan, a retired staff writer for The Oregonian and a writer about trees for many years, said, "Your tree isn't the biggest Douglas Fir in the nation. The biggest is located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and its trunk is more than 40 feet in circumference. I drove up there just to photograph it."

Brian Ballou explained that the Washington tree, dubbed the Queets Fir, is a coastal variety, not a Rocky Mountain Doug. It has been national champion of its type off and on for years. Currently, said Ballou, the champion Coastal Doug is located on Bureau of Land Management property up the Coquille River in Oregon. It is called the Sitkum Fir.

Meanwhile, Metolius Doug, the silent sovereign, awaits winter in the fastness of the Metolius Basin, honored, reverenced, titanically impressive, humble and unplaqued.

That's the way his Camp Sherman fans want to keep him.