How do I know if my tree is eligible to become a Champion?
Eligibility Guidelines
Step 1
Make sure it’s an eligible species! For help with species identification, you can use an app, Google Reverse Image Search, or the expertise of someone near you – consider reaching out to an arborist who would be familiar with the trees in your area. You can find a certified arborist at the International Society of Arboriculture’s Trees Are Good website.
Scientific names are made up of two terms: a genus and a specific name. The genus is always capitalized, and the specific name is always lowercase.
Example: Quercus alba
The first part, “Quercus”, is the genus. The second part, “alba”, is the specific name. In the same way that your last name helps others know who you are related to, the genus tells us who are the closest relatives of this species.
A Quercus alba is closely related to a Quercus agrifolia – although they are different trees, they share a name. We can tell from their genus name that they’re related to each other and share some traits, just like you’ve inherited traits that connect you to your family members!
We also sometimes call trees by their “common name” – for example, Quercus alba is known as the White Oak. Sometimes, it’s called the Eastern White Oak, the Northern White Oak, the Forked-leaf White Oak, or the Quebec Oak. As you can see, there are often many different common names for a single tree! The tree only has one scientific name, but it can have as many common names as people can come up with. By focusing on scientific names, we are making sure we’re all talking about the same species of tree.
Photo credit: Brian Kelley, with permission from American Forests
If your tree is not on the NCTP Eligible Species List, it cannot be submitted for consideration for this cycle. Some states have different eligibility guidelines, so your tree may still be qualified to be a State Champion Tree. Your tree’s species may become eligible in future cycles – the Eligible Species list is updated at least once every 5 years, and occasionally more often if corrections need to be made.
Find your state’s Big Tree Program contact and website
See if your tree’s species is eligible
Step 2
The National Champion Tree Program has the goal of honoring the largest specimen of each eligible tree species according to our points system (learn more about measurements and points). There are many awesome trees that deserve recognition – but if your tree is special because of its history, its importance to the community, or any reason other than its size, it probably won’t be eligible as a Champion Tree. You can search for “Legacy Tree Programs” or “Historic Tree Programs” to see if your state has a program that recognizes trees with documented history or importance.
Step 3
Make sure you have all the information you need to submit a nomination! The following information is required to submit a nomination:
- The species of tree
- Make your best guess if you’re not sure! Our measurers can help correct this later if it’s been misidentified.
- The location of the tree
- GPS coordinates are preferred, but an address can also be helpful. The state and county where the tree is located is the minimum required.
- If there are special instructions for accessing the tree, please note that here (i.e. gated community, can only be reached by kayak or boat, call the property owner before visiting).
- Your contact information
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Address
- If your tree is a Champion, you can request a mailed certificate honoring you as the Nominator of a National Champion Tree. We would send it to this address.
- 6 (six) pictures of the tree (find additional descriptions and example images):
- The whole tree (or as much as physically possible)
- A person standing next to the tree for scale
- If you’re able to measure the circumference, a picture of someone measuring the circumference is preferred
- 4 other pictures from among the following:
- A picture of the tree from each cardinal direction (N, S, E, W)
- A picture of the leaves, fruit, or seeds still on the tree (no photos of fallen leaves/fruit/seeds on the ground)
- A picture of the tree without leaves to show the branching structure
- A picture of any plaques, signs, or tags identifying the tree
- A close-up picture of the bark texture to help with identification
- The more pictures, the better! Pictures help tell the story of these trees and connect them with the public. Nominations with less than 6 total pictures will not be accepted for review.
- If you did not take the photo, please provide credit to the photographer. (learn more about photo credits)
- Please provide Alt text for photos. Alt text is a description of what the image is showing such as “Person standing next to a Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) tree” or “Fruit hanging on a limb of a Quercus montana (mountain chestnut oak) tree” (learn more about Alt text)
The following information is not required to nominate a potential Champion, but it’s helpful for us to have!
- The property owner’s contact information
- The “story” of the tree
- Its importance to you and/or your community
- Historical information about the tree
- Links to news articles, blogs, brochures etc. featuring this tree
- Whether the tree is “single stem” or “multi-stem” (see Tree Measurements & Points Calculation page for more information.)
- The health assessment of the tree (learn about the Tree Health Assessment Categories)
