Dade City residents fighting to save centuries-old grand oak tree from removal

DADE CITY, Fla. — The fight to save a centuries-old tree is heating up.

The roughly 200-year-old grand oak tree sits outside the Pasco County Courthouse. County officials slated the tree for removal, saying it’s threatening a World War II memorial that sits beneath it, but some residents are pushing back.

“This tree was standing here with roots in the ground when this was England, when this was Spain, and then soon became the United States,” said Kevin Taggerty, who created the Dade City Life Facebook page. “We’re talking before the Declaration of Independence was signed.”

The tree is now being considered for removal by the Board of County Commissioners.

“They said that it had to be removed because it was unhealthy and that it’s a threat to the bandstand,” said Taggerty.

Taggerty is a local resident and, through his Facebook page, has rallied other residents to help save the tree.

“This tree is the heart of our city,” Taggerty said. “It’s an iconic tree right here in front of our courthouse. If they remove it, it’s going to take a lot of the heart with it.”

Under the tree’s limbs sits a World War II memorial. Pasco County officials have said the tree is a threat to that piece of history. But Taggerty and others argue a recent arborist report refutes those claims.

“It broke my heart into a million pieces because it is such a grand tree, and it is right in the center of town,” said Karen Menard, a member of the Dade City Garden Club. “And to remove it will create a huge void.”

“Once we found out about the tree removal, we pulled the documents that were submitted,” Taggerty said. “We found out that they used a 10-year-old arborist report, and that arborist did not even say to remove the tree.”

In the tree’s place, commissioners plan to re-landscape the lawn and plant 11 sabal palms. A move, Taggerty believes is unnecessary. Instead, he’d like to see the city stand by its nickname.

“We are ‘Tree City, U.S.A.’ here in Dade City, and we want to keep this look of our beautiful oaks here,” Taggerty said. “We don’t want to see another oak tree fall.”

Pasco County officials declined to respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson with the county, however, did say the board has voted for a more rigorous and detailed arborist inspection that will guide future actions. The inspection is expected to be completed later this month.