Three University of Wisconsin-Madison students are cited by police over a stolen pine tree.
The rare tree species was at the UW Arboretum when it was cut down back in November. The students were given citations this week. They told investigators they cut down the tree as part of a task they had to do as pledges to get into a student organization which as it turns out is not an authorized campus organization. Arboretum Garden Curator Dave Stevens laments the loss saying for 31 years new students each semester learned to identify and care for the rare species.
