WISCONSIN — Trees are struck by lightning every year. Last summer, lightning struck a tree near the famous Leopold Shack at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wis. The tree was planted by Charles Elton, a friend and colleague of Aldo Leopold. Elton, a man of ecological theory, provided valuable insight in shaping Leopold’s philosophies of nature conservation. When Elton visited the Leopold family in 1938, he planted a scattering of bur oak acorns, only one of which survived. Now, 86 years later, the tree has finally met its fate. 

About half of all trees struck by lightning are killed instantly. The water content of trees conducts the lightning and cooks it from the inside out. In this case, the lightning strike completely stripped the bark from the bur oak tree, while also forming deep seated fissures (flat depressions) throughout the tree. The stripping of the bark exposed the phloem, a critical tissue that transports nutrients throughout the tree, to the harsh environments, meaning the tree could not be saved. Since the tree’s structural integrity was compromised due to the deep cracks in the wood, it was not stable and needed to be cut down. Staff from the Aldo Leopold Center contacted wood experts at the Forest Products Laboratory for advice about what products can be made from its wood. 

“The Leopold Center has a long history of collaboration with the Forest Products Laboratory,” said Dr. Robert Ross, research general engineer, emeritus. “This is not the first time the lab has been consulted about the use of trees. A group of red pines planted by Aldo Leopold and his family were harvested and  shipped to the lab and chipped and pulped in the paper lab. The pulp from the trees was shipped to University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and used in the printing of a new edition of A Sand County Almanac, Leopold’s most famous work.” 

The center has also made use of paneling from jack pine logs from Ottawa National Forest, Kenton Ranger District, as part of a collaborative study between the Forest Products Laboratory and Michigan Technological University. The study was designed to examine recovery of useful lumber from logs of varying quality, a study in line with the conservation philosophy of Aldo Leopold. 

Aldo Leopold was associate director of the Forest Products Laboratory from 1924-1928. Throughout his career in the Forest Service and beyond. He was a staunch advocate for balance between civilization and nature, using the term “intelligent consumption” to describe how humans should interact with their environment. Leopold’s land ethic preaches respect for our natural resources with an emphasis on sustainable practices.

To that end, what can be done with a tree that’s been struck by lightning? “The lightning strike was remarkably powerful. It split the trunk in several places and stripped the bark off the tree on all sides,” said Adam Senelik,  research engineer at the Forest Products Laboratory, who recently inspected the tree. “The splitting limits large size timbers that may be salvaged, but there is plenty of wood for woodworking products.” 

While the structural integrity of the tree is damaged the interior of a lightning-struck tree still has a lot of character. The heat of the lightning has the potential to create cracks, knots and changed the color of the wood, making it a gold-mine for woodcrafters who have the patience to find the smaller pieces with the least structural damage. Aside from woodcarving, there are many other uses for wood that do not require structural integrity, including firewood, mulch and eventually compost. To the Aldo Leopold Center, this tree is not merely lumber, but history. Thus, perhaps some of it will live on as a historical artifact in the center itself. 

The eventual fate of the tree is up to the Aldo Leopold Center. Their philosophy, taken from Aldo Leopold’s own, will ensure they use as much of the tree as possible, allowing the bur oak planted so many years ago to return to the earth, perhaps even eventually providing nourishment for a new tree, that can be utilized a hundred years from now.