‘Deliberate’ cuttings, poisonings of trees probed in Searsport

SEARSPORT – State and local agencies are investigating what appears to be the intentional poisoning of trees in a waterfront subdivision.

Town Manager James Gilway said Friday that residents of Bancs Terrace have discovered trees that were either cut down or damaged by the application of a chemical substance. He said the Department of Environmental Protection had collected samples of chemical substances from the trees and soil for analysis.

“We suspect that someone is doing it to widen the view [to the water],” Gilway said. “We have some [trees] that were sprayed and others that were cut. It definitely was a deliberate act.”

Gilway said more than a dozen trees were damaged, including ornamental trees planted by one homeowner. He said those trees were valued at $1,000. Gilway said police recovered a spray bottle containing some type of chemical agent from the area. He said that when police placed the bottle in the department’s evidence room, “the odor was so strong that it made one of our officers ill. He got sick to his stomach.”

Valerie Whittier of the Department of Environmental Protection said Saturday that the cutting in the subdivision was in violation of shoreland zoning and site location rules.

Whittier said that when she and other DEP employees were at the subdivision last week, they found trees that were “girdled” and others that were cut down. Girdling is when the tree bark is cut away in a ring around the circumference, cutting off food and water flow in the tree and causing it to die within a matter of months.

Whittier said she also discovered a “crystallized white material” on some trees and another tree close to a home with a dark chemical stain on its base. She said the substance “had a very strong odor.” She said some trees in the town’s right of way also were cut down.

“We’re kind of right now at the beginning, just collecting evidence and seeing where we go from there,” Whittier said. “I have heard of neighbors chopping down someone else’s trees, but I have never dealt with this sort of thing. It’s an interesting situation.”

Gilway said the town intends to replace the trees that were destroyed. He said if the investigation identifies the person responsible, the town intends to prosecute.