Thriving Trees Leave Little Room for Doubt

* In response to your article (June 3) about how we moved a 300-year-old oak tree in Calabasas, people have been calling to say how pleased they are that the city and state have been willing to commit the funds necessary to preserve this magnificent and historic landmark.

Your writer describes the move as “rooted in controversy.” He says critics doubt the tree can survive because “there is little research and no long-term data” to support the 98% success rate claimed by our company.

If lack of research is the problem, we heartily recommend that the critics do precisely that: Research it. There is, in fact, ample data on thousands of relocated specimen trees, like those on Shoup Avenue in Woodland Hills and at Sherwood Country Club in Westlake. Now, five years after their relocation, these trees are not only surviving but thriving.

It is hard to imagine that your writer, or the critics he cites, would prefer to watch a demolition crew destroy these wonderful trees. Most of us applaud the commitment to preserve them.

BARBARA ROYCE EXTRACT

Calabasas