Among the many unusual endemic species found nowhere else in the world, there is a tree, carving out its existence on high ridgelines within these remote mountains. I was surprised the first time I laid eyes on the Brewer spruce, having never seen anything like it on my mountain walks. With its long weeping branching, it’s quite a forest char- acter and hard to miss. Not only does it stand out in a sea of Douglas fir, true firs, and pines, but its physical structure hints at origins from long ago. Brewer spruce remains one of the rarest among American spruce species.

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