Exceptional Trees - A Waymarking.com Category

2. Additional pictures of the tree are optional.

3. Coordinates based on reading your GPS receiver are required. You must use WGS84 datum.

4. A description of the best way to get from a parking area to the tree is required, such as which trail to use, the level of difficulty in getting to the tree, and any special routes or driving requirements to get to the parking area.

5. The existence of the waymark must not encourage people to trespass on private property without permission. If the tree is on private property, and the owner doesn't mind visitors to the tree, the method of getting permission to visit the tree must be spelled out and the owner notified of the existence of the waymark and visiting interest that it could generate. If the owner does not want visitors to the tree, make this clear in the waymark description and the coordinates of a place from which to photograph the tree without having to walk from public to private property must be provided. If the owner doesn't want people visiting the tree, and there is no place from which to get a recognizable photograph of the tree from public property, do not create a waymark for the tree.

6. The girth (circumference) of the tree's largest trunk may be either measured with a tape, estimated, or obtained from a website, brochure, or other reliable source. The measuring should be at a level of about 4½ feet above the ground. If the tree has multiple trunks, only the largest one need be measured. An estimate of the girth may be done by segments measured with outstretched arms and converted to total girth by measuring the reach of your outstretched arms.

7. The height of the tree may be obtained from a website, brochure, or other reliable source, or by estimation. An estimation of the height of the tree can be done by using the diagonal of a square. A diagonal of a square can be made from an ordinary piece of paper by folding the bottom edge of the paper along its right (or left) edge, unfolding again, and drawing a line along the fold. Hold the paper so that the bottom edge of the paper is level and move away from the tree until the top is sighted while looking along the diagonal line. A partner off to the side, holding a clear water bottle with some water in it is useful to help make sure the bottom of the paper is level. Measure the distance to the tree from this point to the tree by measuring with a tape or by pacing and converting your paces to distance in feet. The tree'! s height is this distance added to the height of your eye above the level of the base of the tree.

8. If the tree is on private property and you cannot get permission to visit the tree just to establish a waymark, do not waymark the tree.

9. If the management of this category recognizes a conservation danger related to a waymark, the waymark will be declined.