Big Trees of British Columbia

The British Columbia Register of Big Trees is currently housed at the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC) in Victoria. Modelled after the American Forestry Association’s Social Register of Big Trees, the registry records the biggest individuals for each of B.C.’s native tree species.

History of the Registry

The registry was established In 1986 by the B.C. Forestry Association. Big trees were nominated by people who submitted information forms, photos and maps. The man who initiated the register, and who located more record trees than anyone else, was Randy Stoltmann. Randy published many of the registry records in his book Guide to the Record Trees of British Columbia (Stoltmann 1993).

Randy Stoltmann died in a tragic ski-mountaineering accident in May of 1994. Shortly before his death, Randy copied most of the registry records into a report for the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC).

The B.C. Forestry Association changed its name to Forest Education B.C. and most recently to FORED BC. They stopped maintaining the register after Randy's death and their register files (containing maps and photographs) are missing. For several years, people were unable to nominate record trees.

Using the records given to them by Randy as a nucleus, the CDC offered to become the new custodian of the British Columbia Register of Big Trees.