Pando, A Utah icon
The idea of a single tree that has spans across 106 acres and reinvented itself for 9,000 years has inspired countless people worldwide — in conservation, art, music, literature and technology. Learn how Pando became a Utah icon, from the people who work to study and care for it.
Did you read a story or hear something about Pando worries you? Visit our Science Communication Center to learn more.
Friends of Pando FAQ's
Table of Contents
2006: Pando has it own US Postal Service stamp!
In 2006, Pando was the subject of its own US Postage Stamp. To develop the stamp, aspen ecologist Robert “Bob” Campbell worked with famed stamp designer Lonnie Busch who designed a Pando Stamp as part of the “Wonders of America” series released by the US Postal; service on May 27th of 2006.
Source: Smithsonian National Postal Museum “Wonders of America”
2013: A folk song that changed the world...
Utah songwriter Clive Romney wrote a folk song about Pando. The song was sung by local Monroe Elementary 4th Grade students who started a campaign in 2013 to have the state tree changed from the Colorado Blue Spruce to Aspen – because of Pando.
2019: Pando wins a Pulitzer...
Richard Powers draws on Pando for a storyline in his award winning novel about various groups of plant scientists and conservationists.
In Power’s book, character Patricia Westerford visits Pando to reflect on the tree in relation to her work. Her visit establishes themes that echo across her story arc in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel – The Overstory.
Source: Richard Powers, The Overstory
2021: Teach the Children Well (About Pando)
Kate Allen Fox publishes Pando: A Living Wonder of Trees. The book wins a best book of 2021 by School Library Journal and is a finalist for a Crystal Kite Award.
Source: Pando: A Living Wonder of Trees
2021: The largest ground-based Image of a tree ever gathered
Collaborating with Fishlake National Forest and Snow College, a group of nature and photography enthusiasts calling themselves “The Friends of Pando” work to document all of Pando’s landmass. Using 360 degree cameras, 40 people will work to capture all of Pando taking a picture every 21ft over the course of a year. The project garners international headlines and figures as the largest image of a tree ever gathered. (164 Gigapixels)
Today, the Pando Photographic Survey provides provides a scientific record of Pando scientist can use to document change in Pando over time.
Source: List of Largest Photographs, Wikipedia (Retrieved July 28th, 2026) | How 8,600 photos will allow anyone to walk through the world’s largest living thing.” KSL News, August 17th, 2021 | The Pando Photographic Survey
2022: What does the Pando Tree sound like...
Friends of Pando welcomes audio conservationist and sound artist Jeff Rice, to help document the soundscape of Pando. The suite of recordings garners international headlines as the first audio recording of the inner workings of the Pando Tree.
Source: Jeff Rice, Ecosystem Sound
2022: Pando inspires an internet-famous comic strip
xkcd #2715 “Pando,” by Randall Munroe, jokes about wrapping all of Pando in Christmas lights to claim the title of world’s largest Christmas tree.
Source: xkcd #2715
2022: Pando, the villain in a Disney Movie
Disney’s animated movie, Strange World names its film’s mysterious energy source after Pando. Director Don Hall confirmed the named was inspired by the real tree
2023: A journey through time, an ageless wonder...
Award-winning science writer Anthony D. Fredericks profiles Pando in his rousing book about ancient trees “In Search of the Old Ones: An Odyssey among Ancient Trees.”
Sources: About Anthony D Fredericks
2023: A documentary film that brings us together...
Filmmaker Billy Kanaly features Pando in his documentary film A Branch of Us. The 34-minute film, by Denver Botanic Film, explore popular trees in history and work to care for them including Pando, Johnny Appleseed’s Apple Trees, the Hiroshima survivor tree and NASA’s Moon Trees.
Source: A Branch of Us by Billy Kanally of Denver Botanic Garden
2024: Silicon Valley gets the Pando connection...
Intel names a millikelvin quantum control chip “Pando Tree,” inspired by how its root network moves information — part of Intel’s cryogenic qubit control research
2024: An award-winning photographer branches out in Pando...
Award-winning photographer Mitch Epstein – known for his pioneering color photography work documenting class, power, ecology and urban life, shift gears to explore forests for his book “Old Growth”.
As a 2023-2024 Friends of Pando Artist in Residence, Epstein gathered a series of images in Pando using a large format camera. For a feature article about the book and gallery show about the works, Epstein puts Pando front and center as a hopeful example of how forest are resilient.
Sources: Friends of Pando Artist in Residence Page for Mitch Epstein | “The Magic of Old Growth Forests”, The Atlantic, July 2024 | Mitch Epstein website
2025: An ancient song emerges in Nancy Ives' "The Quaking Giant"
Award-winning composer and Principal Cellist for the Oregon Symphony, Nancy Ives, completes work on the second in a series of orchestral works about Pando “The Quaking Giant”.
Inspired by the work of Jeff Rice, Ives accepted an invitation to serve as a Friends of Pando Artist in Residence for 2024-2025 in order to make a site visit to immerse herself in the tree in order to compose a 13 minute string quartet.
The Quaking Giant saw its world premiere with Portland’s 45th Parallel Universe orchestral group.
Source: Friends of Pando Artist in Residence Page for Nancy Ives | Nancy Ives Artist Website
World Premier Performance
Listen to the world premier of Nancy’s Ives String Quartet “The Quaking Giant”
Mini Documentary about the Work
Learn about Nancy Ives’ time with the Pando Tree.
Friends of Pando FAQ Collection
Answers from the people who work to care for Pando every day
Friends of Pando is dedicated and working to educate the public, support research and preservation efforts and inspire stewardship of Pando, the world’s largest tree.
Friends of Pando is a proud partner of Pando’s public land stewards, Fishlake National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. Learn more about our partnership.
Friends of Pando and its partners are equal opportunity employers.
Just $18 a month supports work to ensure Pando can be enjoyed for generations to come. Make a one-time or, recurring tax deductible donation today.
Friends of Pando
PO Box 12
Richfield, UT, 84701
Phone: 435-633-1893
IRS EIN: 87-3958681
