What many believe to be the tallest ponderosa pine in the world has come crashing down in a central Idaho forest, leaving loggers a 112-foot log to dissect.
The pine, which died three years ago, was more than 500 years old. To preserve its memory, the tree was cut into four sections that will become monuments to the Ponderosa pine and the passage of time.Three will be kept in Idaho and one will be sent for display in Germany.
The huge tree near Donnelly snagged the attention of nurseryman Hans Borbonus more than 10 years ago. It is 9 feet in diameter and has a 29-foot circumference. Borbonus knew that when the tree died, it could have educational value.
Six weeks ago, he began planning the tree's next life.
"Being a nurseryman, it's more interesting to me than some people. I knew this would go back to the days of Columbus," said Borbonus, who owns Cloverdale Nurseries in Boise.
One of the first people Borbonus approached was Joe Albertson, founder of the grocery store chain. Borbonus, who is designing and landscaping Kathryn Albertson Park in Boise, wanted to bring a portion of the tree to the park, named after Albertson's wife.
"He said, `Hans, go for it,' " Borbonus said.
Thursday, the trunk and bottom portion of the mammoth tree were to be trucked to the park. Plaques with historical information will be attached to the tree in time for the Oct. 17 park opening.
"It will show when Columbus came, mention the wars and other important dates. It's putting history together," Borbonus said.
Of the remaining three chunks of tree, one will be placed in the city of Donnelly and another will go to Pocatello. The fourth will be shipped to a botanical garden in Dortmund, Germany, a town in the western part of the country where Borbonus was reared.
Wednesday morning, before about 100 spectators, Claude and John Fields, brothers and professional loggers, brought the hefty tree to the ground. The pair had to use a special saw from Eugene, Ore., which had a 6-foot blade.
"It's quite exciting to see something like that fall," Borbonus said, adding it took 75 minutes to knock down. "It was very sensational."