It was in the Red Rock Preserve near Hartford, and it was over 400 years old. A 400+ tree in Dubuque County has now taken its place as the oldest tree in Iowa. I like the plant ecologist's point of view about the whole affair:
"The news of the Hartford oak is too bad, but it was inevitable that it would happen someday," Pearson said. "A nice way to look at it is that that tree has now entered the second phase of its continuing life as a natural feature of the forest, that of a decaying log that will support microorganisms."
What do you bet me the hikers and naturalists are wailing much more about this tree than about Terri Schiavo? Just saying...
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My nine-year-old's class took a field trip to a nearby park a few days ago. She informed me that they were planning to hug trees. [shudder] The indoctrination starts early, doesn't it?
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