Hunting hidden giants: The search for Utah’s biggest trees takes foresters into backyards and backcountry

ST. GEORGE — Ryan Johnson had already hiked for almost six hours by the time his goal was in sight – a towering ponderosa pine rising more than 120 feet above the ground in a remote corner of Zion National Park. Ryan Johnson, community forester with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands,…