Aging magnolias to be cut down

HOT SPRINGS — Visitors to Hot Springs National Park will soon notice chain saws being taken to a number of the Southern magnolia trees lining Bathhouse Row.

Ten of the trees are to be cut down by the end of the summer because they are simply too old, according to Mark Scott, chief of the national park’s resources management and visitors services.

“Basically, we have identified ones reaching the end of their life expectancy and several that are severely damaged,” Scott said, adding that some of the trees are so big that their roots are starting to tear apart concrete around the trunks.

Southern magnolias have a life expectancy of 80 to 120 years, according to Eastern Forests, a nature guidebook. The trees can grow up to 125 feet tall.

The trees will be replaced by 15 Southern magnolia saplings.

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