The Arbor-licious Six Pack

six of Eau Claire’s most interesting trees

V1 Staff, photos by Andrea Paulseth |


1. BUR OAK (738 FERRY ST.)

This ginormous tree is listed as one of Wisconsin’s champion trees, a designation by the Department of Natural Resources to recognize the state’s biggest trees (it got 259 points, while first place got 523).

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2. ELM (2705 State St.)

This is an example of the wrong tree in the wrong place, Todd said. Being located under power lines means that every four years the power companies must trim this tree down, which has created a unique tunnel effect over the road and adjacent house.

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3. AMERICAN CHESTNUT (608 N. DEWEY ST.)

In 1904, a fungus introduced by exotic trees at the New York Zoological Gardens led to a blight that wiped out nearly all of the Chestnut trees in the nation. The fruit from these trees were an important cash crop before the disease. Somehow this local tree survived, and is thus extremely rare.



4. THE GUM TREE (UWEC CAMPUS)

The infamous tree behind Murray Hall has collected gum from passing students for more than 20 years, making it the most colorful tree in the Chippewa Valley and the only one with a grape-orange-spearmint aroma.


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5. AMERICAN ELM (OWEN PARK)

This tree is really old, though City Forester Todd Chwala didn’t know exactly how old. And because of it’s location in rich riverbank soil,
it’s also huge.



6. GINKGO TREE (EC COURTHOUSE)

Todd really likes this “urban tolerant” tree, and encourages residents to plant them as much as possible. The resilient trees can survive in poor soils and withstand the road salt used on winter roads. It’s like the Rocky of trees.


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