The prosecutor’s office demanded that the remains of an oak tree planted in honor of the abolition of serfdom be preserved in Orel.

Oryol environmental prosecutor’s office made a presentation to the mayor of the regional center, Yuri Parakhin, to cancel the permit to demolish the remains of the oak tree planted in 1861 in honor of the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire. In early October, due to strong winds, part of the tree’s trunk and a large branch broke off, after which city authorities decided about its dismantling.

An examination of the oak remains, carried out on the initiative of the regional prosecutor’s office, showed that they can be preserved. Specialists from the Healthy Forest tree examination center, within the framework of the federal program “Trees – Monuments of Living Nature,” examined hidden stem defects and selected wood cores (samples), which were sent to the dendrochronology laboratory in Moscow. The results of the work showed the possibility of preserving the tree and the need for its improvement. The remains of the oak tree, according to the findings of the study, need to be fenced off.

The prosecutor’s office also raised the question of taking measures to implement the experts’ recommendations. The department took control of the progress and results of the consideration of the response act.

A 162-year-old oak tree grows at the intersection of Oktyabrskaya Street and Pobeda Boulevard in Oryol. It is included in the national register of old-growth trees in Russia and has the status of a wildlife monument. After part of the trunk broke off, city officials considered preserving the remains. Later, the need to demolish the tree was explained by the findings of local experts, who discovered an irreversible process of rotting of the oak root system and suggested that it could collapse from strong winds.

Read more about the condition of the tree in the Kommersant publication. “The oak tree will not be demolished soon”.

Sergey Tolmachev, Voronezh