Is the Trio in Trouble?

The Trio’s three trunks are interconnected because they are part of the same tree, likely sprouts from a broken central tree that made them clones. The original rock matrix that buried the Trio in the late Eocene was excavated with dynamite by the Henderson family in the early 1920s, and metal bands were later placed around the stumps to secure loose pieces. Even so, small fragments and occasional large chunks regularly fall from the exposed stumps. To monitor changes caused by weathering and gravitational slumping, scientists use sensors to record temperature and moisture levels and observe the stump regularly, and in 2015 they added photogrammetry to measure detailed changes in the Trio’s shape. Using multiple photographs taken from various heights around an object, photogrammetry allows a computer program to build a detailed three-dimensional digital shape from which distances, heights, areas, and volumes can be measured. Repeated every few years, this method allows changes in the Trio’s shape to be quantified so management strategies can be developed and tested.

Florissant, Colorado · United States