Moving manzanita bush costs S.F. a small fortune ($175,000)

[The Straight Story]

Moving manzanita bush costs S.F. a small fortune

Money may not grow on trees, but it sure cost taxpayers a bundle to move a bush that was found growing in the path of the Doyle Drive rebuild.

Not just any bush - this was the Franciscan manzanita, a city native that was thought for 60 years to be extinct until the bush was spotted late last year.

With the final bills in, the cost of moving the bush in January came to $175,000 - $140,000 to dig up and move the shrub, and $35,000 for "support" services from geological, botanical and climate experts in preparation for its new home in the Presidio less than a mile away.

The discovery of the 8-inch-tall, 20-foot-wide bush was greeted with cries of joy by nature enthusiasts but quiet shock by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which suddenly found a leafy version of the spotted owl right in the path of a billion-dollar roadway.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/02/BA9D1DO8C7.DTL#ixzz0pkEfIfU2

[mike_c]

1. this is a story that warms my heart....

:rofl:

Thanks for posting it. I LOVE it when nature wins over human appropriation of the Earth's resources!

[msongs]

2. dang, I woulda done it for only $50 K nt

[XemaSab]

3. Even better than a leafy version of the spotted owl

This would be like a leafy passenger pigeon. :)

[tabatha]

4. I'd rather that kind of money be spent on preservation rather than

empty words from Sarah Palin.

[chromotone]

5. PHOTO: Moving Manzanita Bush...

...little-known twin of George W.

[jody]

6. Absolutely wonderful. I hope there is a program underway to propagate the sole survivor. IMO that

has a higher priority that spending $40+ million of stimulus money to reimburse fish farmers for fish food deemed to be too expensive over the past few years.

[Trillo]

7. Sounds like someone's cooking the books. n/t