Le Figaro Nantes
This intriguing discovery left the mayor of Basse-Goulaine (Loire-Atlantique) dejected.
A week ago, Alain Vey was informed by a local resident of a surprising felling of trees.
Without a second thought, he went there to find the name of the owner of the land on which around twenty oaks had just been cut down.
Once the person concerned was identified, he contacted her:
“She told me that she had not asked anyone to cut down trees,”
the councilor of this town located to the south-east of Nantes
tells Le
Figaro .
He then encouraged her to file a complaint.
A recommendation that the latter, who does not live there, followed.
“An investigation is underway, led by the local brigade
,” confirms the gendarmerie.
The mysterious cuts took place on an unenclosed meadow.
“The oak trees, which are easily 50 years old, were cut down to the stump.
They recovered part of the trunks
,” continues Alain Vey.
“In hindsight, that raises questions.
No one asked what was going on.
It is not normal to cut down large oak trees
.
Also read: These French people who improvise as lumberjacks to keep warm
“Destabilizing and unpleasant”
In a message sent out Friday by the municipality, the councilor described this wild cut as
“shameful and scandalous”
.
“It was completely destabilizing and unpleasant,”
he tells us over the phone
.
The owner was stunned
.
Together, they wondered about a theft of wood:
“We don’t see what else it could be
. ”
Several months ago, the elected official had already heard stories of illegal cutting of wild trees mentioned by his counterparts in at least two municipalities in the city.
“It’s completely mysterious and annoying in the face of the environment
,” he regrets, about the unclassified wooded area.
He does not defend the thesis of theft.
Michel Arbatz is part of the new Basse-Goulaine Verte et Bleue association, which defends biodiversity in all its forms.
“We were informed because supporters of the association live right next door.
They were frightened by what happened
,” says the president, who is organizing a public meeting this Friday at 6:30 p.m.
In contact with an eyewitness, he assures that he did not react immediately because
“it was done in broad daylight.
The people who acted did not hide
. ”
A slaughter was notably observed on February 1st.
And certainly other days.
Another troubling fact Michel Arbatz: of the 17 oak trees destroyed according to his count, little wood was stolen.
“Why destroy 15 oak trees without cutting them up?”
, he asks himself.
Some members of the association went to see what they consider to be a
“massacre” up close.
“Their diameter is 70 to 90 centimeters.
Counting one centimeter per year, these are ancient and very old trees
.
Those who point out that trees are
“very important carbon sensors”
are especially concerned about seeing this land one day become potentially
“developable”
, in the hypothetical situation where someone would consider it.
The investigation promises to be arduous.
Basse-Goulaine: the mystery of felled trees
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