The University of Tampa is moving a single 65 foot tall, 3 foot in diameter oak tree to protect it from the construction of a new athletic facility. This interesting story was sent to me by Dr. Eric Wiseman (Virginia Tech urban forestry expert and member of the Athletic Practice Facility Siting Evaluation Committee, APFSEC). The price tag for the Tampa tree move is unknown however Dr. Wiseman estimates it is tens-of-thousands of dollars. He forwarded the story to the APFSEC committee charged with making the recommendation for the siting of the VT indoor athletic practice facility and commented “VT is way better than University of Tampa – let’s prove it.” They are not a Tree Campus USA, as is Virginia Tech, and VT is still debating the development of Stadium Woods which would require the destruction of dozens of trees of this stature and even larger ones.
