The mistaken removal of a 140-year-old tree from a downtown park sparked some outrage in D.C.
“Some of the trees in this park do date back into the mid-to-late-1800s,” said Jenny Anzelmo Sarles, of U.S. Park Service. “We know that this tree was planted some time before 1886.”
The U.S. Park Service, which oversees Farragut Square, is investigating the cutting down of the male gingko and could fine the contractor, who has apologized.
“They were under contract and asked to remove a tree on the opposite side of the park,” Anzelmo said.
That tree was properly marked for removal.
Washington Post columnist John Kelly first disclosed the tree mistake in his column Tuesday.
“People are outraged,” he said. “The emails and calls I've gotten from readers, they're just saddened.”
Mark Buscaino, who runs Casey Trees, a nonprofit helping to replant thousands of trees in a city where the canopy has dropped from 50 percent to 36 percent in recent decades, agreed a qualified arborist should be on site before any mature tree is cut down.
“Well, it's just sickening,” he said. “I know that park. I've actually sat under that ginkgo tree just like many other people have.”
Photo Credit: Jason Powell