JAMESTOWN, aidba|var|u0026u|referrer|ftris||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
N.D. (AP) – North Dakota State University researchers are growing seeds from the state’s only known subalpine fir tree, to see if the species can become a part of the state’s landscape.

Jamestown resident Dennis Roaldson owns the tree. He says he brought the young fir from Montana in 1980. He didn’t know what it was until City Forester Vern Quam identified it years later.

Roaldson says that when he entered the tree in the state Forest Service’s Champion Tree program – which recognizes the largest of each species in the state – he found out it was the only subalpine fir in North Dakota.

NDSU researcher Todd West says officials want to know if the non-native tree is suitable for widespread use in North Dakota, to increase diversity.