Famed cherry tree ‘Stumpy’ removed from Tidal Basin
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The shoreline at the Tidal Basin was missing an iconic tree Friday afternoon.
“Stumpy,” the cherry tree that rose to fame in 2020, no longer was standing in its place as of noon on Friday.
In March, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that Stumpy would have to be removed for seawall construction. Officials said that rising sea levels led to flooding around the Tidal Basin twice a day, which left behind mud and debris. They said that these rising waters also cause damage to trees in the area.
So long, Stumpy: A brief history of the beloved cherry tree
Stumpy rose to fame after a Reddit post on Feb. 26, 2020. It became a tourist sensation and when NPS announced that Stumpy would have to go, visitors flocked to say their goodbyes.
NPS said that this was more of a “see you later.” The National Arboretum was slated to take parts of the tree and provide genetic matches to plant. NPS said that all trees that are cut down also are turned into mulch for trees around the National Mall.
“It protects their roots and eventually becomes soil that supports trees,” Mike Litterst, spokesman for NPS National Mall and Memorial Parks, told DC News Now in March.
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