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o cut down a decaying tree or maintain it a little longer? The Oriental Tree Board writes in about a favored, but failing, tree in Lupton Park.

If you have been to Edward Lupton Park in the last few days, it’s hard not to notice the yellow barrier tape that has been erected by the town. The tape is there to provide a safety zone to keep people out from beneath the large aging multi-trunk pecan and while the foliage looks full, there is visible decay in both the lower trunk and the upper crown.

During a recent inspection by Dr. Bob Miller, the Tree Board director emeritus, it was determined that the visible decay and the proximity to the playground equipment and picnic shelter represented an unnecessary risk, and he recommended that the tree be put on the list for removal. With Dr. Miller’s assessment, the current Tree Board director, John Deaton, arranged to have the tree removed and the tree was scheduled for removal on Friday June 5th.

In response to the scheduled removal, a concerned resident hired a certified risk assessment arborist to evaluate the tree for defects and targets and provide an opinion. The resulting report recognized the concerns, and offered two paths:

1) a path of mitigation which made recommendations for structural pruning to reduce the weight of the crown, removal of dead limbs and decay in the crown, monitoring and reassessment after storm events and on an annual basis, protection of the critical root zone with mulch to prevent on-going soil compaction and mechanical damage and, installation of support systems if the future condition of the tree warrants such action.

2) remove the tree if maintenance and monitoring are not feasible or if management capacity is limited. More trees will be planted.

Action has been halted until the commissioners can review the financial commitment to follow the suggested mitigation actions or the removal of the tree. Clearly, if the commissioners decide on removal, it will be a loss to all people that have enjoyed the shade and the pecans through the years. But the commissioners will have to weigh the benefits of maintaining an old tree against the potential for someone to be hurt, both mentally and / or physically and the town’s responsibility to protect the public from an identified risk.

The commissioners will be meeting on Tuesday June 9th, and the tree discussion is on the docket.

John Deaton
Chair of the Oriental Tree Board
Oriental, NC
June 8, 2026

The Pecan Tree in Lupton Park, surrounded by caution tape.

Greetings.

I am a Friend of Oriental, having spent four winters house and pet sitting there. I know Lupton Park well and what a gem the pecan tree is.

I also am a St. Paul, MN “girl” and wanted to share that a tree tipped over in one of our downtown parks two weeks ago during a weekend jazz festival. A woman was pinned beneath it and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. No storms – no winds – it just tipped over.

I can’t imagine how the Oriental community would feel if the tree fell on a child at play.

Trees will grow back. Good luck with your choice.

Gina Soucheray
St. Paul, MN
June 8, 2026

Today at the town meeting there will be a discussion on park tree removal. The question before us is not simply whether one pecan tree stands or falls. The question is whether this town will make important public decisions through a fair, transparent, reasoned process — or whether those decisions will be made behind closed doors, after the fact, with the public left only to accept the result.

We now have a TRAQ report. That report does not say there is only one possible course of action. It identifies risk, but it also identifies reasonable options to reduce that risk and give this tree a chance to remain part of Lupton Park. Those options deserve serious consideration. Pruning, risk reduction, monitoring, and other mitigation measures are not radical ideas. They are responsible steps when dealing with a mature, iconic Oriental , and much-loved tree in a public park.

Mature trees are not just decorations. They provide shade, beauty, wildlife habitat, cooler public spaces, and a sense of place. In a park, a mature tree is part of the park’s character. It is part of what people remember. Once it is cut down, there is no quick replacement. A young tree may be planted, but it will not replace what is lost for generations.

The Parks and Recreation Committee unanimously voted to take efforts to save the pecan tree. That should matter. A unanimous vote by the committee charged with parks and recreation should not be brushed aside.

And that brings us to the process. The current process for tree removal decisions is not transparent. The public deserves to know who made the decision, what information was relied upon, what alternatives were considered, and why those alternatives were accepted or rejected. “Because I said so” is not a process. “Whatever the report says, the town will do whatever Dr. Bob says” is not public accountability. It is not deliberation. It is not transparency.

No one here is asking the town to ignore safety. No one is asking the town to expose citizens to unreasonable risk. What we are asking is that the town follow the evidence, consider the reasonable mitigation options in the TRAQ report, respect the unanimous recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Committee, and make this decision in the open.

This tree has stood for years as part of the identity of Lupton Park. Before the town takes the irreversible step of cutting it down, the town should prove that removal is the only option— not merely convenient, not merely ordered and not done for financial excuses.

The fair and responsible decision is to pause removal, implement reasonable risk-reduction measures, and give this tree the chance the report itself shows exist.

We are a tree city and we should act like it.

Butch Rasmussen
Oriental, NC
June 9, 2026