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From YouTube: NewsMakers: Removal of Arlington's Oldest Tree
Description
Arlington VA bids farewell to what may have been our oldest tree, the Old Post Oak in Dominion Hills. After the tree was damaged in the June 29 Derecho, County staff determined that the 250-year-old tree could not be saved. Tree removal professionals severed dangerous overhanging limbs first and then went to work cutting the largest branches and finally the trunk.
A
Welcome
to
this
edition
of
newsmakers
today
we
bid
farewell
to
what
was
almost
certainly
Arlington's
oldest
tree
County
officials
recently
oversaw
the
removal
of
this
champion
post
oak
tree
in
Dominion
Hills,
which
was
severely
damaged
during
the
jun
29th
storm.
The
tree
may
be
more
than
250
years
old,
older
than
our
nation.
Well,.
B
On
this
particular
tree
was
a
post
oak
and
it
had
numerous
things
that
made
it
significant
for
one.
It
may
very
well
be
a
may
have
been
the
oldest
tree
that
we
have
in
Arlington
County,
probably
from
mid
1700s.
It
also
was
the
county
champion
the
state
champion
for
this
species
of
tree
and
may
have
been
as
close
as
number
three
nationwide
for
the
largest
of
its
kind.
C
It's
heartbreaking
when
a
tree
like
this
has
to
be
removed.
You
know
our
first
priority
has
to
be
for
public
safety.
So
after
the
storm
there
was
quite
a
bit
of
damage
to
it
and
we
we
mitigated
the
immediate
hazard.
We
got
it
out
of
the
street.
We
took
down
branches
that
were
hanging
and
could
have
caused
more
property
damage
we
cleaned
up.
Then
we
took
a
step
back
and
say:
is
there
any
way
we
can
save
this
tree?
C
We
got
our
arborists
in
to
take
a
look
at
it
and
unfortunately
found
that
the
risk
of
leaving
it
standing
is
just
just
too
great
in
this
residential
area.
If
it
were
in
the
middle
of
a
park
and
we
can
take
steps
to
keep
people
away
from
it,
it
would
be
a
great
thing
to
keep
this
tree
alive
and
keep
it
living.
But
in
these
circumstances
we
have
to
think
of
the
public
safety
first
and
unfortunately,
the
tree
will
need
to
be
removed.
This.
D
Is
a
very
tough
decision
and
I
came
in
on
monday
after
to
investigate
this
tree
and
I
talked
to
the
naturalist
about
preserve,
possibly
preserving
this
tree,
and
if
this
three
were
in
the
middle
of
a
forest,
I
would
have
no
problem,
keeping
it
up
and
trying
and
experimenting
with
it.
But
once
there's
Brent
there
are
branches
hanging
over
people's
houses,
then
you're
experimenting
with
people's
lives
and
that's
not
really
something
I
want
to
be
a
part
of.