“Big Tree” To Get New Fence

ROCKPORT, Texas (AP) _ A famous more than 1,000-year-old live oak tree in South Texas will be getting some new protection in 2014.

The so-called “Big Tree” in Goose Island State Park near Rockport, about 25 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, will get a new fence. Construction begins in January.

The Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1hgArCB ) reported Monday that the updated cedar fence will replicate one built around the tree during the Great Depression. Park superintendent David England says the old version was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The tree received special attention during the Texas drought. Volunteer firefighters in mid-2011 hosed down the Big Tree to provide water during the critically dry conditions.

Photo of the Big Tree from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/goose-island/the-big-tree
Photo of the Big Tree from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/goose-island/the-big-tree

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