Last month we talked about Sitka spruce trees and how to identify them. This month let’s discover a tree that is very prolific in our local ecosystem and one that has a very high commercial value - the Douglas fir. The Douglas fir is not a true fir, hence the scientific name Pseudotsuga menziesii. The genus name Pseudotsuga is Latin for false fir. This tree is also in the Pine family as are the Spruce trees. The Douglas fir is the tree of choice, along with Western Hemlock, for construction. A visit to Kingston Lumber will prove this as most of the dimensional lumber there is marked Hem/fir. Most replanting of clear-cut areas or selective cut areas are replanted in Douglas fir seedlings.

When I worked for the Shelton Ranger District (National Forest) in the 70s the common practice was to clear cut a unit of trees, burn the slash and replant with Douglas fir. If you look at an old clear-cut area that has grown back, it is most likely all planted Douglas fir. This tree is shade tolerant so it usually does not establish itself on a sunny area unless it is planted. Areas that are not planted with Douglas fir usually grow back initially in alder or (I hate to say it) Scotch broom.
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Douglas fir covers a wide area in the northwest from Alaska to central Oregon usually west of the Cascade Range.  This tree can grow up to 300 feet in height. Young Douglas fir trunks have smooth bark with resin blisters. Older mature trees have dark brown bark that is deeply furrowed. This provides a good mnemonic for identification: deeply furrowed = Douglas fir. Branches are spreading to drooping. The leaves are evergreen, needlelike and spreading in all directions off the twigs. The seed cones of this tree can be a dead give-away to identification. The cones are dangling, reddish brown to gray, oval and 2.5 to 4 inches long. The cones will have what is called a bract at the top of each seed on the cone.  These bracts will have three fingers sticking out from under each cone scale and this is one of the best distinguishing features for identification. Go out and identify this common Kingston area evergreen tree.

The Kingston area is blessed with trees that add to the beauty of our landscape and contribute to soil stabilization and groundwater retention. Many of our local trees have commercial value as well as tribal cultural value. The value of these trees and the forest can be expressed in many ways. Lewis Blackwell, in “The Life & Love of the Forest” says, “the products that forests provide, and their symbolic role in pop culture and human emotional well-being goes beyond their ecological value.”  Take some time to walk a forest trail, far from city and road noise, and stop to listen. Aside from a bird or two, you may hear the rustle of trees talking to the wind or maybe just silence — a chance to reflect.

Kingston is located in the Puget Lowlands Ecoregion. Ecoregions support specific types of trees that thrive based on rainfall, soil types, and elevation. One of the best places to discover our native tree species is North Kitsap Heritage Park. The trees in this park are older second growth. But you may ask, what species are these giants that can grow over 100 feet? Native tree species that have adapted to our ecoregion and dominate our local forests include Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Western White Pine, Shore Pine, Red Alder, Sitka Spruce, and Madrona. Besides appreciating their beauty, learning to identify them can be fun.

Future columns will cover how to identify many of these trees, but for now let’s focus on Sitka Spruce which is in the Pine family. Trees within a family are further identified by genus and species. Sitka Spruce’s genus and species name is “Picea sitchensis.” There are other spruces in the Picea genus but only the Sitka Spruce has the sitchensis species name. Sitka Spruce are found along the coast and along stream and river beds west of the Cascades. This tree likes wetter, but well drained, nutrient-rich soils in areas of higher humidity.

Identifying Sitka Spruce is relatively easy. It is an evergreen (retaining leaves, called needles, year-round). The bark is distinctive — grayish brown and very scaly, almost like fish scales. The branches spread almost straight out with drooping ends and the twigs are pinkish brown. The leaves are single stocked, unlike pine trees that may have 2 to 5 needles per stock, and are an inch long and very sharp at the end. One easy way to identify a spruce is to grab a branch, but I don’t recommend it! The cones are tan, 2-3.5 inches in length, egg shaped, and rounded at the end.

Towering Sitka Spruce ring the Kingston Salt Marsh where Stillwaters has been studying the recovery of salt marsh vegetation since the 2018 culvert removal on West Kingston Road. For more information and photos of Sitka Spruce, check out my blog and Stillwaters’ research at www.stillwatersec.org. Now get out there and have fun using this information to find a Sitka Spruce. 
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Ken Patterson is the Stillwaters Environmental Center Board President.