Trees felled in Tahoe without permit

unedited 12-07 Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Tahoe Verde Mobile Home Park is a bit thinner than officials had wanted it to be.
In other words, the park behind Raley’s at the Y had a TRPA permit to cut 380 trees. When the sawdust settled last month, an additional 31 stumps were found.
“In this instance there was a permit, some work was done and something went wrong. It looks more like an accident,” said Dennis Oliver, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency spokesman. “We still haven’t gotten to the bottom of it. We are talking to the mobile home park. We are still piecing it together.”
A spokesperson for the mobile home park was not available for comment as of press time. Nor was anyone from Bushwhackers, the South Shore tree service which did the work.
TRPA tags all trees with a distinct blue paint so people know which to cut. It is unclear how unmarked trees could have been eliminated. Until the investigation is complete, the TRPA does not know what type of punitive action may be taken or against which entity.
Oliver said the trees that were erroneously felled came in various sizes and species.
“They were doing regular tree maintenance and thinning on their property. It’s a large property with many trees,” Oliver said. “It wasn’t a defensible space project.”