The large Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) in Sterling Heights on Van Dyke has some giant cousins in Southern Michigan – all here long before the cities, development projects, and coming and going of government officials and numerous administrations. All in all, they have endured despite the continued threats against them because somebody, somewhere, prioritized their preservation. They became more than just “a single tree.“

This post continues from Part I and explores a few more Chinkapins on Michigan’s Big Tree Registry. As a reminder, the numbers are the tree identifiers in the registry.

Chinkapin Oak 2603

This oak grows at the edge of a large woodland in Northville Township of Southeast Michigan. It appears to have narrowly escaped the large clearcutting operation to create the Hawthorne Center Psychiatric Hospital development. This may be because its presence is significant enough to have a nature trail loop, The Chinkapin Hiking Trail, named after it in Seven Mile Park. It has a modest circumference of 149 inches but a notable height of 134.9 feet when measured in October 2024. City-owned parkland likely helped protect it, again showing how ownership is the best path to preservation. (Except in cases where the city votes to destroy the tree on city-owned property, such as in Sterling Heights!) The designated trail where the oak is highlighted on the map shows it remains an appreciated historical tree in Northville for many to visit and enjoy.

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Chinkapin Oak 2615

Oak 2615 is a recent registry entry found in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery, southwest of Lansing. In Jan 2025, its circumference is 205.5 inches, a height of just 70 feet, but a crown spread of 112.9 feet may remind you of a shorter, stocky uncle. These measurements place it on the registry, perhaps bumping others from their positions depending on the health of the third tree mentioned in Part I. There is no doubt this majestic tree provides a significant landmark and offers shade and comfort to those visiting their loved ones who have passed.

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Chinkapin Oak 1804

Located in the Windsor Township State Game Area, also southwest of Lansing in Eaton County, this oak was added to the registry in 2021 and is nestled in Old Maid’s Lake’s marsh and wetland area. It is of very close size to that of our Sterling Chinkapin oak for crown spread and height, although larger in circumference at 175.2 inches as of its certification date years ago, so it is likely larger by now. Fortunately, it appears to be protected in a state game area.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed this additional look at some of our other Sterling Oak relatives in Michigan. It is part of embracing the Ojibwe word for tree as mitig, an animate noun used in the same way the Ojibwe refer to other living things worthy of respect and appreciation. If you haven’t subscribed already, use the box below to be notified of the third segment on Michigan’s Chinkapin Oaks and other updates on the threats facing the beautiful tree in Sterling Heights.

If you haven’t already, consider signing the petition and commenting there on how these trees deserve protection as respect for the centuries of threats they’ve endured.