300-year-old oak tree at UW-Madison to be felled

MADISON, Wis. - The oldest tree on the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus is coming down.

The 300-year-old bur oak is known as "The President's Tree" because it stands on Observatory Hill next to the former home of university presidents, which is now the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Daniel Einstein, the university's historic and cultural resources manager, tells the Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/1CbN2ks ) they wanted to keep the tree as long as possible. But he says the recent drought and harsh winter caused the hollow old oak to decline rapidly.

The tree is so big that it recently took 20 preschoolers holding hands to circle it.

Einstein says they won't know the tree's exact age or how much of the wood can be salvaged until it comes down.