USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Press Release 00-147

Press Release
U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center 700 Cajundome Blvd. Lafayette, LA 70506	Contact: Gaye S. Farris Phone: 337-266-8550 Fax: 337-266-8541 For Release: November 7, 2000

Bringing Back the Sailing Cedars

It was a reunion of the species. Ten years after transplanting Atlantic white cedar seedlings into a set-aside portion of a commercial pine forest near Abita Springs, La., a group of scientists and laypersons returned to find the trees thriving.

"We weren't sure what we might find," said John McCoy, a general biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, La. On a blazing day in August, the curious crew revved up a couple of four-wheelers and headed for the trees. McCoy was accompanied by NWRC ecologist Bob Keeland; Joe Cruthirds, an auto mechanics instructor and Atlantic white cedar enthusiast from New Orleans; and horticulturist Robin Fitzpatrick and her son Tyler, both from Abita Springs.

Team members found a high survival rate among the trees, as well as new trees growing in among the cedars and pines. "We planted about 150 seedlings and found 145 surviving. Those are impressive numbers."

But McCoy says he's even more impressed by the combined effort to preserve the Atlantic white cedar. "What's unusual about this project is the involvement between scientists and the community," said McCoy. "By including people other than scientists, this has taken on a lot more substance than many things that we, as scientists, do."

Atlantic white cedars, commonly referred to as "junipers" and "false cypress," grow in a narrow, coastal band along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Prior to the Louisiana planting, they ranged from Maine to Mississippi.

"We believe they were once found in Louisiana," said McCoy, "and now we've shown that in fact they can grow here." The Abita Springs site is the trees' westernmost province.

A decade ago, Robin Fitzpatrick, reserved space in her greenhouse to cultivate the seedlings. Tyler Fitzpatrick, now 20, was among a group of Boy Scouts who planted the seedlings.

Cruthirds said he admires Robin's green thumb. "I tried for years to grow them," he said. "I just kept killing them."

The overall goal of the project was a simple one, from McCoy's perspective. "We just wanted to see if we could get the trees to grow," he said.

But for Cruthirds, an amateur boat builder, the Atlantic white cedar seemed to hold more romantic promise. "I wanted to grow them and make boats out of them," he said.

The tree, which is closely related to the bald cypress, is ideal for boat building. Its trunks, which grow tall and straight, have been used as masts for sailboats. The wood is rot and water resistant, and almost impervious to disease and insects. Its bark appears rough hewn; its needles are soft and mildly fragrant.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, houses built in Philadelphia and Wilmington were roofed with shingles made from white cedar. Even Herman Melville noted white cedar's seaworthiness, in a line from "Moby Dick" - "Don't stave the boats needlessly, ye harpooners; good white cedar plank is raised full three per cent within the year."

McCoy recognizes the economic value of the Atlantic white cedar, as well as its value as a vehicle for scientific research. With the establishment of the trees in Louisiana, McCoy and his colleagues have a population available for study.

"We can get to know these trees and their offspring. We know the conditions they were planted in and can continue to monitor their progress," he said.

The scientists are not only interested in the trees' growth, but in "the proliferation of seeds and new seedlings from (the) trees," said Keeland. "We expected that some of the planted trees would grow, but the high survival rates and especially the recruitment of new seedlings are very exciting. These data suggest that the planted seedlings are developing into a viable Atlantic white cedar stand that could remain a part of the local landscape for decades, if not centuries."

Keeland and McCoy have plans to return to the site in 2010; they are undetered by the fact that this is a long-range project.

"Somehow, the public has confused science with technology," noted McCoy. "We've gotten accustomed to quick-fix solutions and tend to foist that on science." The expectation that science will quickly and efficiently serve mankind is a phenomenon McCoy terms "whiz-bang science."

"What is truly amazing," says McCoy, "is not how much information science already has yielded, but how much we don't know."

McCoy and Keeland have worked together, evaluating the success of reforestation of bottomland hardwoods. Their study subjects have included elms, sugarberry, dogwood, hawthorn, sweetgum and other trees. Their goal was to help people planting trees make decisions about planting methods. How deep should an acorn be planted? Should cuttings be used? Or seedlings?

Similar questions can be posed about the Atlantic white cedar. But already, scientists have gleaned some very useful information about Chamaecyparis thyoides.

By locating Atlantic white cedars, scientists can sometimes uncover other plants. The trees, which favor acidic soils, are often found in pitcher plant bogs, wetlands that are home to endangered species of plants. Satellite images of the earth's surface can easily show trees but may completely overlook the wetland plants growing nearby. So, it's useful to know where Atlantic white cedars are growing.

What else is known about the Atlantic white cedar? "It's an odd-ball tree," said McCoy. Although cultivated for lumber in the Northeast, the tree is not considered commercially viable in the South.

"It grows differently here," McCoy explained. In cooler climates, stands of Atlantic white cedar are found. In warmer environments, along the Gulf of Mexico, the trees grow in and among hardwoods. "This (pattern) is most probably influenced by the destruction of the Atlantic white cedar habitat in recent times," noted McCoy.

It is estimated that at the time of European settlement, the North American continent contained as many as 500,000 acres of cedar swamps, concentrated in what is now North Carolina. The wetlands were drained for agriculture and the trees harvested or destroyed. In some cases, the swamps were converted to cranberry bogs. In 1791, more than 5,000 acres of New Jersey swamp were burned to thwart the activity of pirates - the destruction of vegetation deprived their ships of hiding places.

In more recent times, reduction in the numbers of Atlantic white cedars can be attributed to "the usual suspects - urbanization, agriculture, industry, " said McCoy.

In the Abita Springs project, industry played a cooperative role. Along with his fellow scientists and community volunteers, McCoy credits forester Paxton Tate, who in 1990 cleared the way for the seedlings to be planted on company land. Warehouser, which now owns the timber operation, has allowed the Atlantic white cedars to remain.

"The more we learn from these trees, the more we will know about the Atlantic white cedar in general," said McCoy. "Ultimately, we may be able to reintroduce Atlantic white cedars into habitats where they are declining."

Sometime boat maker Joe Cruthirds has all but given up on his dream of felling Atlantic white cedar for boats. "It takes time, maybe 50 years, for the tree to develop water resistance," he explains. "So I guess I won't be harvesting any in my lifetime."

But that won't keep him from promoting - and propagating - his beloved species. At the reunion event, Cruthirds collected a few seedlings and vowed to find good homes for them.

And he's always on the lookout for his favorite evergreen. A few years ago, Cruthirds visited Juniper Creek National Park in Florida, which carries the common name of the Atlantic white cedar. When he inquired about the trees, park employees said none remained there. But Cruthirds wouldn't take no for an answer. "I looked around and found some," he said. "They didn't even know they had them."

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