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 Tree preservation takes root with oak's
transplant
By NICOLE SERVICE
Staff Writer
Last update: April 09, 2005
THE HAMMOCK -- Some developers would find it easier to cut down a giant
100-year-old oak than move it out of the path of their project.
After all, it's an expensive proposition costing $30,000 to hundreds of
thousands of dollars. It's also time-consuming, taking about 10 days, and the
probability of the tree surviving the move is usually low.
But a persistent property owner who believes in the value of saving old trees
convinced Continental Properties, developing a Publix along State Road A1A and
16th Road, to move instead of destroy a majestic live oak standing in the way of
progress.
By this weekend, the tree will be 30 feet from where it spent its long life --
just far enough to be out of the path of a proposed driveway.
"It's a bit unusual and unique," said Tom Gay project manager with McIntryer
Elwell & Stammer, the general contractors. "I have been in this business 25
years and I have never seen anything like this before."
So how does one move an oak with a 50-inch-diameter trunk?
The experts at Davey Large Tree Moving readied the tree Friday to be uprooted
using four giant jacks with large beams capable of lifting 800,000 pounds.
The slow process involves hand-excavating, shaping and encapsulating the tree's
root area in burlap and wire. Workers then drive pipes beneath the bottom of the
tree's root ball to create a structural bottom with steel beam, which is used to
lift the tree out of its hole.
"All we do is move trees. If God can grow it, we can move it," said Jason
Williams, the main office's assistant manager in Texas.
He estimated the costs for moving the Hammock tree at $30,000, and said though
some projects cost more than $100,000, he finds it's a growing trend with
developers willing to preserve trees.
He said the company moves about 15 large trees a year, with Wal-Mart as one of
its biggest customers.
Although this was the first time he had seen it done, project manager Gay also
believed there is a growing trend toward preservation.
"More and more people are doing it," Gay said. "It's something that has to be
done as more people move into the state."
Friday night, workers had the tree wrapped up like a giant potted plant, which
was how property owner Rosemary Meyers described it. The actual moving and
replanting won't happen until either late today or early Sunday.
Meyers is leasing the land to the developers. Everyone from the contractor to
county employees said it was because of Meyers that so many trees on the
property were saved, especially the oak, which isn't the largest tree on the
property. There are three oaks with 60-inch trunks.
"She was insistent about it," Gay said. "She kept telling us to do all we
could."
Meyers said tree preservation is important to her.
"When you cut down a 100-year-old oak tree, it can't be replaced," she said.
She goes out to the property daily to watch the tree-moving process. "It's
amazing to watch," she said. She added that she hopes this project will act as a
model for future projects.
Another factor that went into saving the tree was an ordinance aimed at
protecting the county's designated Scenic Highway S.R. A1A tree canopy.
It requires that 50 percent of a property's tree canopy be saved, which is
usually an encouragement to save the largest trees, said Walter Fufidio, the
county's planning director.
Tim Telfer, the county's environmental planner, said the Publix project is the
first use of the S.R. A1A land-clearing and tree-protection ordinance adopted
last year.
He said it was a good first application.
"It's kind of a test project for us," Telfer said. "And what we see here is a
site, that's when it's fully developed, is going to house a small Publix and a
bank, but still retain the old growth that's existing on site."
Chuck Lippi, a St. Augustine arborist who is consulting on the project, says the
tree has better than a 50 percent survival rate.
"That isn't very good," Lippi said. "It's still better than the earlier
prognosis for the tree. If we had done nothing, it would have died for sure."
Williams is a bit more optimistic, giving it a 90 percent chance. He said
they'll be doing some "pretty extreme" maintenance to help the tree along, such
as irrigating its canopy.
Gay is also rooting for the tree.
"A lot of effort has gone into saving it. I hope it survives," he said. "All we
can do is hope for the best."
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