Builder to Dig Up, Save 100 Trees
In what may be one of the bigger tree-moving operations in Orange County history, more than 100 oaks and sycamores, some more than 200 years old, are being dug up to make room for a housing project in Dove Canyon near Coto de Caza in the southeast foothills of Orange County.
Dove Canyon Co. officials, developers of the project, said the trees will be preserved and replanted in the development when home construction is finished.
‘This Is the Biggest’
“There have been other projects (of this kind), but as far as I know, this is the biggest,” said Jeffrey B. Froke, western area manager of the National Audubon Society and director of the society’s Starr Ranch sanctuary next to Dove Canyon.
Froke said the 3,900-acre Audubon sanctuary, which is just north of Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park and east of the proposed development, “has seen 15 years of development in these hills and canyons, including Coto de Caza and others, and while none are really suitable (to the environment), we do have a good relationship with the Dove Canyon group.”
“I wouldn’t say Audubon approves this project, but I have been working with the developers since Day 1, starting in June of 1986, in the role of adviser.”
He said it is too early to determine what effect the operation would have on the trees, but said it is a “plus” that they will remain in the development. The company has also agreed to set up a 100-acre buffer zone between its site, the Audubon sanctuary and nearby Caspers Park.
In addition, at Froke’s suggestion, steps will be taken to prevent runoff water from landscaping from flowing down Dove Creek and into Bell Creek, both of which are normally dry during much of the year, a condition that is natural for most of the vegetation there.
Doug Wood, vice president of the Dove Canyon Co., said the roots of each tree are being boxed and cared for so that they can be replanted among the 1,312 homes to be built on the 874-acre Dove Canyon development.
Each tree is carefully pruned and the roots are given vitamins to avoid shock before being boxed, one side at a time, lifted out of the ground and stored until the time comes to replant them as part of the project’s landscaping, Wood said.
Cost Projected at $1 Million
Removal and replanting of the trees, mostly California live oaks and a few sycamores, is expected to cost about $1 million, company spokeswoman Sheryl Edelstein said.
Wood said construction of model homes will start in June, and the development will eventually include a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, a clubhouse, swimming pool and tennis courts.
He said several trees have already been moved without the difficulty experienced in October at nearby Coto de Caza when it took workers about a week to pull up a 150-year-old oak.
