The soaring Fremont cottonwood tree makes a utility truck look puny.
The majestic tree that towers over the cul-de-sac at 77th Street and Roberts Avenue is indeed tall and old.
Exactly how old and how tall is anyone’s guess.
But historians and environmentalists in Sea Isle City are confident that it holds the distinction of being the tallest tree on the entire island and may be the oldest.
“I don’t know about it being the oldest. But it’s the tallest, no doubt about it,” said Mike McHale, a former president and current trustee of the Sea Isle City Historical Society and Museum.
The tree is a Fremont cottonwood, a type normally found in the American Southwest near streams, rivers and wetlands, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Fremont cottonwoods can grow to about 70 to 90 feet tall.
Now, Sea Isle City’s Environmental Commission is planning to give the tree formal recognition by dedicating a special plaque at the site sometime next year, perhaps during the annual Arbor Day celebration in April, McHale said.
McHale, a former Sea Isle mayor who is a member of the Environmental Commission, noted that the tree has an interesting history. He said he was told by now-deceased resident, Hank Guarani, who had lived on Roberts Avenue next to the tree, that it began as a wild seedling.
“He remembered when it grew up from a seedling into a humongous tree,” McHale said in an interview Monday. “It keeps getting taller. It just keeps growing.”
It soars above the expanse of marshlands at the bay end of 77th Street and Roberts Avenue.
The tree shows signs of pruning, including the removal of a large dying limb several years ago. In addition to their plans to recognize the tree with a plaque, Sea Isle officials are also trying to have the Fremont cottonwood added to the New Jersey Forest Service’s Heritage Tree Conservation and Education program.
“There has been a lot of discussion, and we want to protect it,” McHale said.
The tree has a sprawling green canopy for the summer months. During the fall, the leaves on a Fremont cottonwood turn golden yellow.
“It has a broad, open crown and stout, widely spread branches. When the tree is young, the bark, branches, and twigs are smooth. As the tree ages, the bark becomes deeply furrowed with cracks. Its leaves are shiny, triangular to heart-shaped, and light green with white veins,” according to the National Wildlife Service’s description of Fremont cottonwoods.
Sea Isle’s tree is so tall that it is easily visible to motorists entering town miles away via Sea Isle Boulevard. When they are driving into Sea Isle, they need only look to their right across the marshlands to see the tree.
“It’s beautiful. You see it on the bridge as you come in,” McHale said of trips across the boulevard.
Although it is striking now, the tree was not always so beautiful. Annette Lombardo, chairwoman of the Environmental Commission, recalled that the tree was looking “a bit scraggly” about five or six years ago when it had a large dying branch.
The Environmental Commission brought in an arborist to inspect the tree and then worked with Sea Isle’s Public Works Department to have the dying limb cut off, Lombardo said.
“I think it’s come full circle now,” she noted of having the tree’s beauty restored with some pruning.
The Environmental Commission and other local groups help to beautify Sea Isle by planting new trees and giving away seedlings during the annual Arbor Day celebration.
The Environmental Commission also organizes an annual tree raffle that includes giving away 30 full-size trees to local property owners for free to add to the town’s greenery.
The tree towers above surrounding homes.
