was in an environmental hazard zone. It seemed to me that common sense might have dictated another course of action --  perhaps the landowner could just have kept an eye on it to see if the spilled oil would have any effect, as the tree seemed in perfectly good health. This Poplar had a long life -- it was perhaps 150-200 years old. Looking at ring thickness, it grew around an inch a year for many years.  Devon told me he'd only seen something similar to that rate when investigating a stand of Douglas Firs and Red Cedars while on Vancouver Island. As it was being felled, he was able to recover some of its pieces.