Luis Feliu
Byron Shire Council is still trying to track down the culprit behind the chainsaw felling of around 30 large trees from a wildlife corridor around a property at Bangalow Road, Talofa early last month.
The trees, a mix of Tuckeroo, Grevillea, and Banksia, were chopped down from inside the private property adjacent to Bangalow Road, west of the St Helena Road turnoff.
Council’s governance manager, Ralph James, said the landowner had spent many years planting the wildlife corridor around the perimeter of his property.
‘To have an unknown person come onto a property and remove a section of the trees was unacceptable,’ Mr James said.
‘Council is committed to working with the community to improve our natural environment. Where residents are keen to take conservation steps on their own property, they should not have someone else cutting down trees they do not like.’
Mr James said anyone who wanted to remove a tree more than three metres in height on their own property had to obtain council approval, but he said it was another thing entirely for people to remove trees from someone else’s property.
‘That kind of action is illegal and does serious damage to other community members and the environment.’
Anyone with information about the incident can call council on 6626 7164.
