From sailors to siskins; the great white pine

The Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is so common in the region that a person only need walk outside to see one—more likely, a lot more than one. Outside of dropping pollen and sap on the car and pine needles in the yard, we normally don’t think much of this tree except of its nuisance factor.

The early settlers had a much different view of the white pine. The wood was easily worked with, and because the trees grew straight and tall (over 100 feet), it was found to be very good wood for constructing masts for sailing ships. So much was the wood coveted for this use, that in the 18th century, the British king put the “Mark of the Broad Arrow” rule into effect for the American colonies. This rule stated that any white pine greater than 24 inches in diameter that was within three miles of the coast was to be emblazoned with this mark, thus making it property of the Crown. (I recently measured a tree with a diameter of over 54 inches; the king probably had a lot of trees).

This pine is also attractive to various wildlife species for food and shelter. Pine siskins and red squirrels feed on the seeds from the pine cones. Other animals such as the porcupine eat the tender twig bark and needles during this cold time. Eight out of 10 bald eagle nests in this area are located in white pine trees, usually 90 feet high or better in super-canopy trees. Cavity-nesting wildlife utilize white pine, especially dead or broken-topped trees.