ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
The Lorax is going to get the last laugh in Basalt after three mature trees were clandestinely cut down by an unknown assailant in the town’s new river park recently.
The Lorax is the Dr. Seuss character who “speaks for the trees” and dedicated himself to protect them from the ravages of progress and industrialization. In Basalt’s case, the town government is taking on the role of the Lorax. The three trees, estimated to be greater than six inches in diameter and between 10 and 15 feet high, will be replaced with equally mature ones.
The saga started in late January when an early morning walker reported to Town Hall that three trees were felled in a riparian area of Basalt River Park. The trees were located between new high-end condominiums and the Roaring Fork River. The removal of one tree clearly opens a line of vision between some residences and the river corridor. Another tree is partially in the view plane. However, the third tree does little to open up the view because other mature trees surround it. The trees were cottonwoods or poplars or a combination, according to town officials.
The trees were cut down slightly higher than waist level, at the top of protective mesh. When town employees investigated, they found multiple blades for a sawzall, but the blades were for cutting metal rather than wood, said Town Manager Ryan Mahoney. Police Chief Greg Knott said they established that the blades were purchased at Walmart but it appears they were acquired online rather than at a store.
Residents of the nearby condos were questioned but, predictably, no one fessed up to the crime, according to Mahoney and Knott.
“We have some suspicion on why they were taken down but we can’t say with any certainty,” Mahoney told the Basalt Town Council earlier this week.
Councilwoman Elyse Hottel said at the meeting that the act “really upset” her.
Maybe it’s that I’m the Lorax and I’m speaking for the trees but for me, that’s like coming in an graffitiing Town Hall,” Hottel said. “It is just completely inappropriate and I want the community to understand this is not OK. I would like to see the perpetrator fined for that action just as we would someone who vandalized Town Hall.
“It’s in a park. It just blows my mind,” she added.
Knott said the action qualifies as criminal mischief and could be a class 6 felony because the value of the trees was more than $1,000.
There is a history in the Roaring Fork Valley of wealthy landowners feeling entitled to take rogue action to improve their views. Pitkin County has cited a few parties on Red Mountain for cutting down trees without a permit, for example.
While Basalt doesn’t have a solid lead on the lumberjack in this case, the town is making plans to repair the damage. Three mature trees will replace the three that were chopped down. The town sawed off the remaining stumps and covered the spots with mulch.
Mahoney said the replacement trees will be at least 15 feet tall and planted at roughly the same locations. “They’ll be full-sized trees,” he told the Aspen Daily News on Friday while visiting the site. There’s no guarantee the trees won’t be cut down again, but at least there will be greater awareness and the person or persons will be on notice that their work could qualify as a felony. The town will also count on moral behavior.
“We’re not going to put cameras through all of our parks,” Mahoney said.
He assured the council the town wouldn’t let the act of vandalism go unpunished. The trees will be replaced at a cost of $15,000 to $20,000.
“We’re going to put trees back up so if somebody took them down for a particular purpose it’s not going to do them any good in the long run,” he said.