Century-old Giant Towering Over Pibel Lake is also the new National Champion
It is official: the Cornhusker State has a new national champion.
In the summer of 2024, a surveyor working at Pibel Lake in Wheeler County noticed a very large eastern cottonwood tree. He measured the distance around the trunk and sent that information to the Nebraska Forest Service for official consideration for the Nebraska Champion Tree Program. Experts from the Nebraska Forest Service visited Pibel Lake Recreation Area to record official measurements in September 2024.
Pibel Lake Recreation Area is a 72-acre property in southern Wheeler County that is owned and operated by the Lower Loup Natural Resources District. The recreation area includes 24-acre Pibel Lake.
Based on the official measurements of the tree – 85 feet tall, a 120-foot canopy spread, and a trunk circumference of 37.2 feet – the Pibel Lake tree was indeed larger than the reigning Nebraska Champion eastern cottonwood near Beatrice. But before that tree could be dethroned and the Pibel Lake tree crowned, the Beatrice tree would need to be remeasured. In early February 2025, Lower Loup NRD Information & Education Coordinator Alan Bartels received two emails from the Nebraska Forest Service: The first one confirmed that the eastern cottonwood at Pibel Lake Recreation Area was the new Nebraska Champion Tree for that species. The second email confirmed that the Pibel Lake tree is also the new National Champion eastern cottonwood.
“I was pretty excited to receive the news,” Bartels said. “I spent a lot of time at Pibel Lake when I was growing up. It’s been a special place for me for a long time. The fact that the Lower Loup NRD is home to the largest known eastern cottonwood in Nebraska and the entire United States means even more since that species is our cherished Nebraska State Tree.”
Trees nominated to the Nebraska Champion Tree and National Champion Tree programs are ranked by point value based on a series of measurements. National Champion Trees are determined using a formula developed in 1925: Circumference (in) + Height (ft) + 0.25 * Average Crown Spread Diameter (ft) = Total Champion Tree Points. The canopy measurement of the Pibel Lake tree exceeds that of the previous champion by about 12 feet. National Champion trees must be remeasured every 10 years.
“Nebraska is home to many majestic cottonwoods. In fact, our database of big trees includes well over a dozen trees across the state with trunks at least 25’ in circumference,” said Justin Evertson, the Green Infrastructure Coordinator for the Nebraska Forest Service & Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. “But none of these trees is as majestic as the Pibel Lake cottonwood which has a trunk circumference of over 37 feet.” Evertson nominated the Pibel Lake tree for the National Champion Tree Program. Of the 546 title holders in that program, the eastern cottonwood tree at Pibel Lake is the only National Champion tree, of any species, from Nebraska.
“It would take at least 6 adults linked together to give that tree a complete hug,” Evertson added. “The tree is also 85’ tall and has a canopy spread of 120’, meaning it could shade an entire home or two with plenty of room to spare. But perhaps more importantly, this tree has helped sustain a wide variety of birds, important insects and other wildlife on it, within it and under it for many decades. We hope it continues to do that for many years to come.” Eastern cottonwood trees are a fast-growing species. Evertson estimates that the new Nebraska and National Champion eastern cottonwood tree at Pibel Lake is 100 to 120 years old. It stands toward the northeast side of the Pibel Lake.
“Pibel Lake is a quiet recreational gem,” said Russell Callan, General Manager of the Lower Loup NRD. “Providing habitat for fish and wildlife, and recreational facilities for people, are among the NRD’s statutory authorities. The fact that the state and national champion eastern cottonwood tree is growing on our Pibel Lake Recreation Area only increases the area’s natural significance and importance to residents and visitors. Champion trees are the largest known specimen of their species, and to have this monarch of an eastern cottonwood growing at Pibel Lake, well, I think that is pretty cool."
