We had several live oak trees die in Tuscaloosa recently. Some of A row of trees bordering a cemetary next to Bryant Denny football stadium. Seems they were poisoned because they block the view of the stadium from some new condos being built. If you paid 600,000. what would you want your view to be. A pile of concrete or green trees.
Other than that we don't loose many oak at all. A reallly bad lighting strike will sometimes kill one. An extended dorought will cause a few to go dormant early but not usually die. An extended heat wave will kill a few scattered hardwood. Now with pine it's a whole nother story.
Here's the story about the posioned trees.
TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa Police are looking into a death that could involve foul play.
But the perpetrator could only be charged with criminal mischief at best, because the victim isn’t human. It’s not even an animal.
The police department’s Criminal Investigation Division is looking into the possible poisoning or intentional destruction of four oak trees lining the south side of Evergreen Cemetery on 12th Street.
Someone drilled holes near the base of the trees, said Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation Director Joe Robinson.
Investigators are looking into whether some type of poison was poured into the holes. Robinson has little doubt the act was intentionally done to kill the trees.
“Someone drilled holes in the trees, and we believe that is what killed the trees," Robinson said.
Glenda Gamble, a member of the city’s legal staff, said the city must determine the value of the trees before it could determine whether the crime was a felony or a misdemeanor.
Two quarter-inch holes two to three inches deep were drilled at a downward angle into the base of each of two large live oaks growing on the city right of way. The oaks are part of a row of trees that line the cemetery’s south side.
About three feet in diameter, the trees are too large for a grown man to wrap his arms around and join hands. Robinson did not know how old the trees are.
The trees started dying more than a year ago, and city crews removed two last year. A cemetery groundskeeper called the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation’s attention to the holes. Robinson didn’t know if drilled holes were found in the trees removed last year.
The trees stand between The Legends, a new condominium development on 12th Street, and Bryant-Denny Stadium. Richard Ellis Jr. of Advantage Realty, the company selling the condos, said his company had nothing to do with killing the trees.
“If there are owners over there who wanted a better view and did that, I don’t know about it," Ellis said. “I don’t know who would do that. I wouldn’t dare do something like that. I would hate for anyone to think we would do something like that."
The trees did not obstruct the view above the second floor, Ellis said.
The pricey condo development has all but sold out, Ellis said. The one, two and three-bedroom units sell for between $350,000 to $600,000. Among the buyers are those seeking a second home in Tuscaloosa during athletic events, but condo residents will also include empty nesters and students.
Ellis said he didn’t know what anyone would gain from killing the trees. He speculated that the stadium would soon be fully enclosed and said that there are also trees in the cemetery.
There appear to be no holes in the trees next to the dead ones or any damage to the trees nearby inside the
