A College President Speaks for the Trees

Richard Stockton College — situated in the New Jersey pinelands and known by many as “The College of the Pines” — is going to pay big to remain true to its image. The college will shell out $700,000 to replace a stand of pines in a protected forest area that were cut down to make way for a new dormitory. The dorm cost $30-million.

According to the Associated Press, Herman J. Saatkamp, president of the state college, said that the college could not just plant saplings but would have to replace the stand with mature trees. The Board of Trustees grudgingly agreed and voted to pay a landscaping company for new pines.

The board members hope to pay less for pines in the future. “We want to be good stewards of the land,” said a board member, Curtis Bashaw. “But we should try to find a way that is less costly.”