Somebody is illegally cutting down trees at a Burlington woodlot
Published April 22, 2024 at 1:36 pm
Who is cutting down trees at the Tansley woodlot?
That’s what neighbouring residents and the City of Burlington want to know.
The downed trees were recently discovered by nearby park users and so far nobody has been found responsible for bringing out the chainsaws.
It has not been determined how many trees have been cut down.
Located between Tansley Woods Park and the community centre near Upper Middle Road and Itabashi Way, the forested area is a small but active refuge for local wildlife and nature lovers.
Residents who noticed the tree removals looked to City Hall for answers but have come up empty.
Videos
“I walk along there regularly and it looked different than I noticed several of the trees were gone,” Margo Leitner told inhalton.com. “It’s pretty hard to take. I thought this area was supposed to be protected.”
City of Burlington staff are investigating after receiving several complaints.
A Burlington official said residents thought the City was behind the cuttings but that’s not the case.
“We don’t know who is doing this or why.” the City official said. “People are really upset by this. We are investigating but so far we haven’t found an answer.”
One resident who spoke to inhalton.com said she found it difficult to accept that somebody could go in and cut down trees without the city knowing it.
“Unless it was some kind of mistake it’s hard to believe that nobody knew this was happening,” the resident said. “It looks like it was done by people who knew what they were doing, not vandals or pranksters.”
A message sent out on Mayor Marianne Meed Ward’s blog said that trees in the woodlot are being marked which indicates they are being selected for elimination.
“Once the identity of those involved is determined, staff will then be able to lay charges under the city’s public tree bylaw,” the mayor said.
In Burlington trees that are on both both public and private property are not allowed to be cut down or marked without approval by the city.
Anyone with information about the illegal tree cutting at Tansley woodlot is asked to contact city staff through Service Burlington.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising