Who Cuts Trees at UCSC?

There is a story that the UCSC tour guides still occasionally tell about the founding UCSC Chancellor Dean McHenry: Allegedly, during initial construction in 1964, any tree on campus over 12 inches in diameter had to have the chancellors personal approval before it could be cut. In the construction of the road to the small parking lot behind the main library, there was a spot where the road was squeezed between a second growth redwood and a steep bank. The construction crew and campus planners asked the chancellor for approval to cut the tree, and he allegedly refused and told them to find another way. Thus there is still a timed red traffic light on the road to the library behind the art center.

The main library was named after the first chancellor and became the McHenry Library. Dean McHenry died in 1998. He didn't live to see the massive expansion of the library named after him. This construction project broke ground resulted in the following carnage of second growth redwoods and oaks, and possibly some old growth redwood as well.

There is a story that the UCSC tour guides still occasionally tell about the founding UCSC Chancellor Dean McHenry: Allegedly, during initial construction in 1964, any tree on campus over 12 inches in diameter had to have the chancellors personal approval before it could be cut. In the construction of the road to the small parking lot behind the main library, there was a spot where the road was squeezed between a second growth redwood and a steep bank. The construction crew and campus planners asked the chancellor for approval to cut the tree, and he allegedly refused and told them to find another way. Thus there is still a timed red traffic light on the road to the library behind the art center.

The main library was named after the first chancellor and became the McHenry Library. Dean McHenry died in 1998. He didn't live to see the massive expansion of the library named after him. This construction project broke ground resulted in the following carnage of second growth redwoods and oaks, and possibly some old growth redwood as well.

Traditionally, UCSC makes all of its tree cuts during winter, spring, and especially summer breaks when students are absent from the campus. The McHenry Cut was no exception and follows int he footsteps of the Elfland Cut to make way for Colleges 9 and 10.

Currently, over 120 acres of woodland are threatened by UCSCs Long-Range Development Plan which calls for the addition of nearly 5000 more students.