Largest sycamore in Iowa likely destroyed by suspicious fire

A sycamore tree that sprouted around the same time French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette saw Iowa for the first time in the 1670s likely was destroyed by fire this week.

A visitor to Geode State Park, near Danville, alerted staff Sunday the sycamore was on fire, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported.

“While the fire was extinguished, the tree was severely damaged and its survival is uncertain,” the DNR said in a news release.

The tree, with a trunk circumference of 23 feet and a height of 107 feet in 2018, was certified the largest of its kind in Iowa. While the tree’s exact age is unknown, it is estimated to be 350 years old based on size.

“We are encouraging anyone who may have information about the fire to contact us,” Geode Park Ranger Andrew Kuckler said in the news release. Callers can remain anonymous. You can reach Kuckler at (319) 392-4601.

Kuckler could not immediately be reached to provide more information about the timing of the fire or how it was put out.

Iowa’s database of state champion trees is maintained by Mark Rouw, a volunteer who travels the state measuring trees’ height, trunk circumference at chest height, and canopy spread.

The DNR started the Iowa Big Tree Program in 1978, inspired by the national Big Tree Program, launched in 1940 by American Forestry Association, a nonprofit conservation group now called American Forests.

Geode State Park, about 90 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, also was the site of illegal ginseng harvesting in 2018 and 2019.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com