Auburn's Toomer's Corner Oaks poisoned
 

Ohhhh.... :(

Some psycho called into a radio show in Auburn and announced that he'd poisoned our 100+ year old oaks with herbicide. The Forestry Department got there too late and it appears that the oaks probably won't survive. The ones we've rolled after victories all these years.

Even Bama fans are upset and offering any help they can give. I hope the police fry the SOB who did this.

No. What? Who would poison TREES? SMH.

ETA: Realized that those trees won't be there when AZ-AlphaXi and I make it to Auburn on our SEC tour. We don't HAVE trees like that here in the desert. I can't even imagine the beauty of the area... and poisoning the earth? There's no explanation for this, none whatsoever.

http://podcasting.fia.net/6960/4653697.mp3

There are only 2 words that describe folks like this: white trash.

**edit** okay, 3. BITTER white trash.

This hort professor I used to teach with there says that if the trees don't die, they'll probably have to be removed because they'll be so severely disfigured. I don't know what kind of sicko kills trees--y'all remember the Treaty Oak in Texas awhile back?

It would seem like it'd be easy to trace who had bought massive amounts of a specific herbicide. The average guy on the street can't just go out and buy this stuff.

I think they should drop the guy in the middle of Jordan-Hare Stadium and let the Auburn fans deal with him.

^^ agree

They already know who it is, so he'll be punished I'm sure. That's the dumbest shit ever. What does killing historic trees prove?

One of my brothers posted this awesome picture on facebook:

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2058436_n.jpg

That was posted right after the BCS win, the same week that Alabama and Georgia got tons of snow. When someone first sent it to me, I thought it was a picture of snow-covered trees--and here I have a doctorate in horticulture. But I got a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a retired hort professor, one of the best ever in the field, and he told me, "Don't feel bad, I thought it was snowy trees too."

The Forestry Department has been selling acorns from the trees for years as a fundraiser but how can you replace history? Some schools, like Arkansas, have a building as their main and much-beloved symbol and a comparison might be--if someone razed Old Main and blacktopped the block it was on. Maybe you know what a comparison at your school would be.

But these trees, these gorgeous trees...and I haven't seen it addressed yet but no doubt that amount of herbicide in the soil (51 times what it would take to kill the trees) would render the soil unplantable. I don't know how far the herbicide has percolated through the soil but it'll probably kill all those gorgeous azaleas nearby.

And all because someone was pissed that Auburn won the Iron Bowl.

This is one of the saddest things I have ever heard of anyone doing. Those trees are just so beautiful and such a symbol. PLUS to make the area unplantable is just downright immoral. The whole thing is immoral. I know we love our football in the south, but this is truly a nutcase. He deserves to be put in the stadium to let all the Auburn fans have a go at him.

You know what? If they put him in jail, he'd have to be in permanent solitary confinement. Can you imagine what the other prisoners would do to him?

I have no connection to Auburn, and in fact my in-laws went to Bama. However, I find this terribly sad. And, yes, Carnation, I do remember the beautiful, historic tree that was poisened in Texas a few years ago. I am pretty sure that scumbag was never caught.

That's so ridiculous! Why would you take your anger out on trees?

Realistically though, is this even a felony?

Yes, because of the thousands in property damage. Once the trees and shrubs begin to break dormancy in the spring, the herbicide will really take effect and could damage the majority of the landscape in that area.

Working in Athletics, we all have been talking about how awful this is. I mean seriously what a freak. I hope he doesn't sleep at night for the rest of his life. Apparently there is a press conference this morning, I guess the suspect has been found.

http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=14043957

He has to be insane.

In Charlotte-Mecklenberg, he'd probably get the death penalty.

They tried to fine a restaurant owner here HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars (literally) for TRIMMING his Crepe Myrtles. Guy shoots someone here on school property in broad daylight with twenty witnesses and gets probation. Trees are serious business.

Also, isn't it a felony to misuse pesticides?

I don't know the Alabama laws about pesticides anymore--I used to be a licensed applicator--but surely it is.

This is unreal, the guy is actually from where he told the radio show host that he was. He is that crazy. I can't wait to hear what his neighbors say about him.

He really is Al from Dadeville! Maybe he thought he'd be some kind of a folk hero...?

So sad, that someone is this sick and crazy! Those trees are so beautiful. I say let the Auburn fans at him, jail would be too good for this man....

So wait. You TP the trees when the football team wins? Who takes it down, or does it just fly away? And yinz think we're weird because we wear jeans to football games.

On a serious note though, that is an utterly effed up thing to do.

Al from Dadeville has been arrested and has been charged with a Class C felony. He faces from 1-10 years if convicted. Well guess this is his 15 minutes.:mad:

I'm watching the live video from Auburn and they're hardly saying anything about the guy--to protect their case, no doubt. They showed 2 of the ag professors talking about how they were trying to save the trees and other nearby plants. Someone asked Dr. Enloe what the chances were that the trees would survive and he choked up.:(

"Al" did this because he heard that 30 years ago, AU students rolled Toomer's to celebrate the Bear's death?:confused: I never heard that they did (maybe some random drunks?) but why did he wait 30 years? There are so many missing parts here.

This guy is a special kind of crazy. I marvel at his idiocy.

I feel bad for the Auburn. It's bad enough that it happened, but Live Oaks like that are irreplacable. The Hedge at UGA could be replaced in hours with privet from yards in Athens...

It's things like this that make me hate telling people I'm from the South.

Don't worry! There's an article today online that tells about all the horrible, awful things that have gone down in the name of college teams and they're evenly spread out around the country.

I've never heard of that either, but like you said...30 years ago...let it go. I'm willing to bet he's just a nut that thought Bama fans would applaud him. Instead of realizing no one understands how important football and these traditions are better than football fans in Alabama, regardless of team. I've got a lot of friends that have made memories spanning a lifetime at Toomer's, and I can't imagine how pissed they are.

All that being said, my FB feed is about to get a very large, all caps rant. If I see one more "Bama fans suck djsgfndjkg" post I'm going to scream. I haven't seen a single person yet say they think this is funny or ok. He's just a random crazy and no one is supporting what he did.

War Treeagle!

Warrr Treeagle! I like that!

That IS an awesome picture! I had to stare at it for a few seconds before I realized it was toilet paper and not snow/ice! :)

I say the Auburn fans should be allowed to tar & feather this perp! I'm curious to see what other charges may be made against this guy.

Someone on Facebook has noted that the guy lived in Texas for awhile and wondered if he might have been the one to damage the Treaty Oak there, which survived an attack--barely.

Auburn is gonna have to take out tons of soil from that spot and who knows if anything will grow there again?

Who is Al from Dadeville, aside from a nut?

I thought that guy already served time.

My next question was going to be the impact on surrounding vegetation and groundwater...Are the trees in bad shape now? Will it be a long death, or will it be sudden? If this had been discovered sooner, could the consequences have been mitigated?

He called in saying he was "Al from Dadeville." I don't know how large Dadeville is, but there can't be too many guys there named "Al." He didn't care to disguise himself.

I have heard that they weren't in top shape before being poisoned but pretty good for their age. They appear okay now because they're in winter dormancy; obvious damage would start in the spring, about a month away in Auburn.

On TV, the professors said that the trees will likely start to yellow, then maybe turn green and have a year of more of apparently good health, and then die. They're removing soil now but they think that besides the live oaks, more trees and shrubs will be affected. The groundwater shouldn't be hurt because of the soil type (silty clay, which is pretty tightly packed).

Someone on FB suggested half in jest that we replace the trees with bronze ones so they couldn't be hurt. Well, I don't know if anything can ever grow there again, even if they remove the soil way down.

Someone's gonna have to answer to this guy :D

This is just appalling. It feels like the trees were murdered. And I've only been to Auburn once!
________

LOL! This guy needs to get a hold of the tree murderer! :)

This is just sad. :(

Just playing the environmental scientist devil's advocate.... but depending on the amount of herbicide he dropped (has that been said yet?), and the depth to the most shallow groundwater table, the contamination could still be an issue. A "dig and haul" (what they're doing now) is going to be the best bet for immediate results. I'm not an arborist, but I feel like there is something out there that when applied can counter the effects?

In interesting FYI related news, I sample hybrid poplar trees once a year (about 2,000 trees) that were planted over an extremely concentrated TCE plume. The trees are actually remediating the chemical on their own. :)