While many of Whidbey’s old-growth trees perished to fire and the settlers’ saw, some giants have stuck around for centuries.

Thursday was a big day for Admiralty Inlet Natural Area Preserve, an 86-acre property located within Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. The old-growth forest within the property joins over 250 old-timers in the nationally recognized Old-Growth Forest Network.

The forest is composed by a rare association of Douglas firs, western hemlocks, oceanspray and swordfern, according to Whidbey Camano Land Trust Stewardship Director Jessica Larson.

The Douglas firs range from 150 to 260 years of age, Larson wrote in an email, though Executive Director Ryan Elting believes there are trees older than 300. The forest, which is the ninth in Washington to join the network and is part of the Washington Natural Heritage Program, sits on a coastal bluff and displays some uniquely shaped trees. Many dead trees stand in the forest, providing valuable habitat to cavity nesting birds.

The old-growth forests are selected based on a variety of factors: being among the oldest forests in the country, having formal protection from logging as well as parking and a trail, and last but not least, being easily accessible to people of all ages, according to the network’s website.

The goal is to create a map of family-friendly hikes that includes a diverse variety of rare old-growth forests and encourages visitors.

Network Manager Nick Sanchez said the organization aims to induct at least one forest in each of the 2,370 U.S. counties that can sustain a native forest. When the network reached out to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, the Admiralty Preserve was recommended as the right fit. There can be more than one forest added per county, he said, as long as they offer a different experience and vegetation.

While some state parks have policies that may allow for commercial logging, which disqualifies them from being a candidate for the network, the preserve is meant to remain untouched, Sanchez said.

Before the arrival of European settlers, the Admiralty Inlet Natural Area Preserve was part of a much larger native forest and prairie area, according to Larson.

In 1853, the preserve became part of the C. Crockett Donation Land Claim. It was later taken over by the U.S. military, which built a coastal artillery fort in 1897, Larson wrote. In 1957, the federal government sold part of that land, today’s preserve, to the Seattle Pacific University, which sold it to the land trust in 2013.

To preserve and keep the forest thriving, the land trust removes invasive plant species and relies on volunteers and stewardship staff to address any issues, Larson wrote. Additionally, the land trust is adding new age classes of trees to further variegate the multi-aged forest.

“The more diversity, the better in these forest ecosystems,” she wrote.

While the forest is old, these are not the oldest trees on Whidbey.

In 2013, a Douglas fir at Deception Pass State Park that is believed to have been 498 years old had to be cut down as it was failing. If the age estimation is correct, the tree was born in 1515 — 260 years before the start of the Revolutionary war, 106 years before the first Thanksgiving and 49 years before the birth of William Shakespeare.

Now, Deception Pass State Park Manager Jason Armstrong keeps a piece of the trunk in his office while the rest of the tree was used to build the park’s amphitheater.

While the tree’s cross section displays 498 rings, rings aren’t always a reliable age indicator, as some rings can be so close to each other they become hard to tell apart. Still, Armstrong is certain there are multiple trees in the park that are around 500 years old, reaching heights of 180 feet — as tall as Deception Pass Bridge.

The “Big Tree,” located at Dugualla State Park, might reach such height and might be the same age as the tree in Armstrong’s office, he said, as it doesn’t appear to be much larger.

Typically, forests that feature tall trees and little to no deciduous growth on the ground suggest they are old, Armstrong said. This is the case for Deception Pass State Park, he said.

Size can help, though it might also be misleading. Sometimes, Armstrong said, two neighboring trees can be the same age but come in different sizes as they compete for resources.

In spite of a less than ideal environment, a Douglas fir located by the sand dunes interpretive trail by Cranberry Lake has been around for more than 850 years, or so it’s believed. This is particularly impressive considering that early European settlers would log first the trees that were closest to the water, before the steam-powered donkey engines and the horse-drawn rail carts transported timber from the island’s interior.

Coastal Douglas firs can live for 500, even 1,000 years, reaching over 300 feet in height and 20 feet of width that make them the world’s second tallest trees in the world, according to information provided by Armstrong.

As they age, Douglas firs typically grow taller and lose their lower branches, displaying a clear lower stem, according to David Cass, an agency forester for Washington State Parks. However, the tree has grown in a contorted and atypical shape due to being exposed to strong winds and salt spray while growing on sand — a terrain that lacks nutrients — and is likely less than 30 feet tall.

While it is the largest and oldest tree in the spit of land separating Cranberry Lake from the ocean, Cass said, he isn’t certain the tree is as old as the sign placed in front of it says.

Years ago, Cass said, the tree was cored with an increment borer, a hollow drill that extracts a sample of the tree and shows its rings. At the time — though Armstrong and Cass do not know when — the sample revealed 850 rings.

Old-growth trees, Cass said, are an irreplaceable piece of history. While the tree could be cored again to confirm its age, Cass believes this would be an unnecessary and invasive procedure, like a biopsy. The tree wouldn’t regenerate the lost tissue, and the scar could become a source of decay.

“If it’s less than 850 years old and we find out by coring it today, are we going to value the tree less? If it’s more, are we going to value the tree more?” he said. “It doesn’t really help with the preservation of the tree, in my opinion.”

Other notable trees on Whidbey, according to Kyle Renninger of the Garry Oak Society, include the “Grandpa Tree” at Fort Ebey State Park and the “Ancient Cedar” at South Whidbey State Park. The Whidbey News-Times could not reach the South Whidbey and Fort Ebey State Parks’ interpretive specialist for more information.

The Grandpa Tree is located on the Grandpa Tree trail and is believed to be one of the largest Douglas firs in the park, Renninger wrote in an email. When he last visited the tree on Aug. 28, it was dead. The top, he said, seemed to have broken off during a windstorm and was unable to recover despite growing a secondary top.

While this is sad news, the tree will continue to provide valuable habitat for birds and other critters. There is another comparably large tree on that same trail, “perhaps a Grandma tree,” he wrote.

The Ancient Cedar is over 500 years old, according to a sign in front of the tree. In the 1970s, a group of South Whidbey residents led by Harry and Meryl Wilbert wrapped themselves around this and other old-growth trees to save them from logging. This led to the annexation of 255 acres of forest to South Whidbey State Park, according to the sign.

To ensure these giants continue to thrive and leave generations of hikers in awe, it’s best to admire them from a distance. The Ancient Cedar has dealt with people playing in the hollow of its trunk, while the tree bark on the 850-year-old Douglas fir has been thinning as a result of people climbing and hanging their hammocks, despite the presence of a fence and signs asking to stand back.

Though getting close to a tree to snap a cool photo might be tempting, it’s important to stay on the trails to protect the roots from compaction and protect the delicate sand dune ecosystem, Renninger wrote.

“Climate change, disease, invasive species and ever-increasing visitation are all really hard on ancient trees,” he wrote. “We have very little old growth left, and these ancient trees are unquestionably worth protecting.”

This odd-looking Douglas fir is believed to be 850 years old, and is located at Deception Pass State Park. Coastal Douglas firs are the world’s second tallest trees, yet this one is about 30 feet tall or less. (Photo by Luisa Loi)