Director’s note: In February 2025, an error was caught in this record - sometime in 2019, the circumference measurement was listed inaccurately as 1,231 inches rather than the correct number of 1,026.6 inches, and this number carried through to the 2024 Register despite our best efforts to clean up the data. 

As far as I can tell, this mistake may have originated with some conflicting measurements listed by the National Park Service (and replicated on the Wikipedia page for General Sherman) that refer to an undated historical document from the NPS that predates our most recent expert measurements. We honor the many skilled tree measurers who came before us, and we also acknowledge that our measurement techniques and tools have improved greatly from the early days of the NPS. This record has been updated to reflect the most accurate and current measurement according to our trained measurers, members of the National Cadre of Tree Measurement Experts, and other well-known, reputable tree measurement experts.

One of the ways that General Sherman’s measurements were verified was through laser scanning, where a highly-detailed 3D image of the entire tree was created. When American Forests first proposed the idea of the National Champion Tree Program in September 1940, they envisioned it serving as a “nationwide laboratory for tree and forestry studies by future generations.”

We’re bringing that vision into reality by bolstering the state Big Tree programs to increase their capacity for the collection & keeping of accurate tree measurement records, building up the National Cadre of Tree Measurement Experts (NCTME) to better serve as a trusted authority on the size/measurement/science of large trees in the United States, and creating a training and certification program for tree measurers to ensure official NCTP measurers are meeting our standards for accuracy.

Together, we’ll make sure that the next generation inherits a truthful account of the trees that we steward, so that their management decisions and understanding of tree biology are rooted in reality.