Across the Mid-Atlantic, Giant Oak Trees are Dying

Jason and Aga Jones loved the magnificent oak tree that was once the centerpiece of their backyard. In 2013 — a year after they bought their home in Takoma Park, Md. — they restored a circular stone retaining wall around the base of the tree. In 2019, they added an extension to the back of the home with enormous windows from which they could admire the majestic branches and watch squirrels build nests and collect acorns.

Then late last summer, when they hired a company to lop off branches encroaching on the neighbor’s yard, the company’s workerspointed out ominous symptoms: browning leaves, dead branches. Within a year, the tree was dead.

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