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Washington to remove about 300 cherry trees, including 'Stumpy'

natureAug 30, 2026246,615

The National Park Service will remove about 300 trees, including roughly 140 cherry trees and the well-known weathered cherry called Stumpy, so crews can repair the crumbling Tidal Basin seawall around the Jefferson Memorial. The multiyear, $133 million project is expected to begin early this summer and take at least three years, National Mall spokesman Mike Litterst told the Associated Press. Park officials say chronic inundation from the Potomac, which has risen about 11 inches in the last century, has repeatedly drowned roots and killed trees near the seawall, and that removing affected trees is necessary before the underlying seawall is fixed. The felled trees will be repurposed as mulch and to protect surviving trees’ roots from foot traffic, and the National Arboretum will use Stumpy’s genetic material to propagate clones. Litterst said crews plan to plant 277 replacement cherry trees once the work is finished. Stumpy gained a social media following during 2020, and visitors have left flowers and bourbon at the tree while some users on Reddit and TikTok urged officials to spare it.

Ricky Davila
@therickydavila.bsky.social

As if I couldn’t hate the orange felon more than I already do, over 60 trees which include historic Cherry Blossom trees were quietly cut down recently in Washington DC without court approval. I’ll never forgive anyone who supports this monstrous hateful destructive criminal.

64409h ago
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