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A historic tree at the White House will meet the end of its lifespan soon – but an expert says that's not necessarily a bad thing.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he plans to chop down a southern magnolia purportedly planted by former President Andrew Jackson. The Republican wrote that he was working with "the wonderful people at the National Park Service" to make "tremendous enhancements to the White House, thereby preserving and protecting History!"
"One of the interesting dilemmas is a tree planted many years ago by the Legendary President and General, Andrew Jackson," Trump explained. "It is a Southern Magnolia, that came from his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee. That’s the good news!"
"The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed," he continued.
A magnolia tree, known as the Jackson Magnolia, stands alongside the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, January 5, 2018. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
"As long as one of the [White House's] tree service's arborists has performed a risk evaluation on it, and declared it high risk, the tree should be taken down," she added. "The arborists who take care of the trees at the White House are highly qualified."
Having spent her career in California, Britton said that she's worked with a few southern magnolias before, particularly one in Napa.
"The southern magnolia is a fairly common tree that's planted pretty much all over the country… it is similar to cherry trees," Britton said. "It is a hardwood, but it's considered a ‘soft’ hardwood in that it's got straight grain. It's valued by woodworkers."
"Because so many of the original old growth trees have been removed over the years, [the Jackson magnolia] is not a particularly old tree for a magnolia."
Britton also noted that environmentalists who oppose the tree's felling would be remiss to ignore that repurposing wood helps save carbon.
"If you burn it, you release that carbon back to the atmosphere," she explained. "If you cut it up and put it into a structure, then you're actually saving it… so you're prolonging the life of the carbon that's in the tree."
The expert also expressed contentment over seeing how well the trees have been taken care of.
The magnolia tree's wood will be repurposed, according to President Trump. (iStock)
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"I'm sure that [Trump] spoke to an expert with the NPS or the tree service that takes care of the trees and was reiterating what he was told," Britton said. "It's just nice to see trees talked about positively… they have always been revered as part of our culture. And I'm so glad to see them revered and cared for like they do in Washington."
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can follow her on X at @andreamargs or send story tips to andrea.margolis@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/does-president-trump-really-need-cut-down-andrew-jacksons-magnolia-tree-expert-weighs