Huge Replanting Project Begins

Dove Canyon Co. of Mission Viejo has begun removal for replanting of 113 oaks and three sycamores for a housing project and golf course the company is building near Coto de Caza in southeast area of county. The trees--up to 200 years old--are placed in crates and lifted with cranes, left, out of the way of future fairways and driveways, to wait in rows for replanting, above. The crated trees weigh 6,000 to 125,000 pounds and stand 15 to 40 feet tall. Replanting will cost about $1 million, Dove Canyon representative Sheryl Edelstein said. The triangular project is just west of a 3,900-acre Audubon wildlife sanctuary, which is north of Caspers Regional Wilderness Park.