SAVE THE ANGEL OAK ON JOHNS ISLAND, SC
Charleston City Council has just approved a plan to put 600 homes and a shopping center on the property surrounding the Angel Oak, on Johns Island, SC.
This development will surround and imperil the Angel Oak. The developers also want to cut down or harm 55 other grand trees so they can squeeze in as many buildings as possible! The development will also ask to fill in over 4 acres of wetlands, an important habitat for countless species of animals.
Grand trees are supposed to be protected by law, but the developers are seeking a variance from the city's Board of Zoning Appeals so they can cut down these trees anyway.
Tell the Board of Zoning Appeals WE SAY NO! The Angel Oak is one of the most beautiful and important parts of our island -- and our nation!
Please call Samantha Siegel at 843-367-3664 or visit http://www.savetheangeloak.org/ if you want to help out in the fight against this terrible plan. Thank you everyone!
Charleston City Council has just approved a plan to put 600 homes and a shopping center on the property surrounding the Angel Oak, on Johns Island, SC.
This development will surround and imperil the Angel Oak. The developers also want to cut down or harm 55 other grand trees so they can squeeze in as many buildings as possible! The development will also ask to fill in over 4 acres of wetlands, an important habitat for countless species of animals.
Grand trees are supposed to be protected by law, but the developers are seeking a variance from the city's Board of Zoning Appeals so they can cut down these trees anyway.
Tell the Board of Zoning Appeals WE SAY NO! The Angel Oak is one of the most beautiful and important parts of our island -- and our nation!
Please call Samantha Siegel at 843-367-3664 or visit http://www.savetheangeloak.org/ if you want to help out in the fight against this terrible plan. Thank you everyone!
are writing today on behalf of a number of concerned South Carolina citzens, but also a number of citzens from around the country, and around the globe.
The approval of the "Angel Oak Village" plan to put up 600 family homes and a shopping center on the property surrounding the Angel Oak, on Johns Island, SC, is going to be devasting to the historic live oak.
No one knows the actual age of the tree, because the only way to determine the age of a live oak is to cut it open and count the rings. It is rumored to be over 1400 years old.
Whatever its actual age, the tree is colossal, and it is ancient. It stands proudly in an obscure wooded area on Johns Island. It stands sixty-five feet tall; with the longest limb extending eighty-nine feet long and the tree's canopy shading an area of 17,100 square feet.
Imagine the things this amazing live oak tree has lived to see. It is a truly remarkable natural wonder that inspires people daily.
When developing their new community so close to the Angel Oak, builders will have to cut down many trees in the wooded area surrounding the historic tree. In doing so, the Angel Oak will be left unprotected against natural elements it has not been exposed to. The tree will be extremely vulnerable and mostly likely die. I have consulted with numerous forestry experts and soil experts and would urge you to make sure a stringent enviromental case study was performed to verify this as well.
In a town that is so well known for preserving its past and protecting its natural beauty and charm, I find it incredibly surprising and tragic that the Charleston City Council would approve this project.
There has been an almost perfect balance between all of the elements of the forest, which is the only reason the Angel Oak has stood the test of time.
Please help me save this tree from destruction at the hands of men, when it has survived the fury of mother nature for so long. I am sure you are aware of the awe-inpiring power of this tree. Please do not let on of our last natural, historical features to be bulldozed for housing and shopping. There is plenty of land to build on, but only one Angel Oak.
Whether it is the drainage patterns, wind and sun exposure from cutting down similar trees, or the litter and graffitti that will not only come with the construction crews, but from residents of the new "Angel Oak Village" and shoppers alike, the Angel Oak will suffer and chances are, will die.
If this plan goes through, the city of Charleston will loose a lot of respect in the historical preservation and conservation department. It is our responisblity to preserve these landmarks for the next generation.
Thank you so much for your time in this matter.
-Samantha Siegel
Any land adjacent to Angel Oak should be purchased with Charleston County half-cent funds for greenspace!
Don't destroy such a beautiful thing.
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11:49 am PDT, Jul 1,
Betsy Roy, South Carolina
The Angel Oak is a part of South Carolinas History, and a part of many, many peoples personal history. I used to live down the street on Brownswood Road, and my children delighted in walking to "The Tree" every day with their dog to eat their picnic lunch. I still visit there whenever I can to think, and remember..... Please leave the Angel Oak and the surrounding area alone!!!!!!!! |
This development may well spell the early demise of the Angel Oak and will require the destruction of a number of other irreplaceable trees. These beautiful plants are part of the natural heritage of Charleston, of South Carolina, the United States and Earth. Which is more important - preservation of what remaining natural treasures we have, or another development that in all likelihood will be gone well before the expected natural death of these trees?
When is this destruction going to stop?
Retired 30yr veteran USNavy; Travelled and fought around the world to defend freedoms that we and allies enjoy today! ALLOW No fill in of wetlands and no more tree removal! What about the additional traffic??? These developers do not live on this island and are providing no benefit to we that do live here, now or in the future! The only people to benefit are these developers!!!!!!
There is no way a beautiful tree like this should be cut down for condos. Tree protection laws are here for a reason, not to just be over looked... This tree should be a historic treasure, not just something thats 'in the way of progress'.
The Charleston City Council is sadly corrupt if they approve this travesty. I pity their souls.
I am planning a trip to visit this tree after reading about it in a book that includes photographs that describes the world's oldest and grandest trees. The book is written by a British person who has traveled internationally to view elderly giants of this sort. There are very few trees of this sort left in America, most likely because indiscriminate development is often favored over reserving tress of this age. This could be made into a tourist attraction for those of us who appreciate specimens of this sort. This could be a valuable asset to the area. If this tree were not currently in place, with a reasonable amount of undeveloped ground around it to provide an appropriate natural ambiance, I would drive by at a rate of 80 miles an hour and skip Charleston altogether. Have some sense.
Save the forest around Angel Oak! Save this tree! Susan Flowers
I was born in Charleston, and was raised on Wadmalaw Island until I was two years old. My parents relocated with me to California, so all my memory of the Angel Oak Tree are vivid because they occurred during my teenage and adult years. My grandparents resided on the Island until the time of their deaths. I remember almost each visit, there was a visit to see this Magnificent Oak tree. It has always been and still is so majestic. I have not been to the island since 2004. I was so devasted by the loss of my grandparents, this was my connection to the island; cutting down the Angel Oak tree would again be a tragic loss.
Grow up in Goose Creek. Too many trees are lost to natural disaters, why should man take out what is left and leave one tree alone to defind itself?
Save the wetlsnds and this historic wooded site.
Come on! There are plenty of places to build on that do not require removing historical landmarks. This is greed, pure and simple. To the board, the right choice is easy to make, do not be blinded.
