- Trees form a symbiotic relationship with all animals on earth, and destroying them without proper permission can result in hefty fines.
- A New Jersey man gets an ill-fated crash course in what fines can be after illegally felling 32 of his neighbor’s trees.
- According to a Twitter thread, the man faces nearly $2 million in fines even if he still doesn’t get the view of New York he’s been hoping for.
The benefits of trees in cities and communities are almost too numerous to list, but let’s try.
Tree roots filter the water we drink and purify the air we breathe. They shade streets and sidewalks and at the same time act as a natural air conditioner. Trees also improve our mental health, absorb seismic shock from earthquakes, provide fruit, eat up greenhouse gases like CO2, and even increase the value of a home – 88 percent of Americans say they would pay more for a home with a tree in the yard.
Oh, and they look pretty.
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With all of these benefits, it only makes sense that cities across the US would take urban forestry seriously. And they do—penalties for illegally felling a tree can range from $500 to $10,000, depending on the jurisdiction and the tree.
But not everyone is such a fan of trees. Recently, a disgruntled resident of Kinnelon, New Jersey — whose house said it would have a nice view of New York City if it weren’t for his neighbor’s pesky trees — reportedly decided to take matters into his own hands and just chop it down . All 32 of them. The man reportedly expected to be fined about $1,000 per tree, but probably figured that being able to list “NYC View” on Zillow would offset the fines and then some.
Turns out he may have grossly underestimated the Tree Law.
As a Twitter thread by @SamAsIAm shows, even if the $1,000 per tree is correct, the fines aren’t the only cost. The cost of clearing debris, bringing in new trees of the same size (yes, it’s possible), and providing irrigation services for at least two years could add up to a multi-million dollar fine.
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A friend who is a municipal arborist just called to tell me about a man who cut down 32 large mature trees on his neighbor’s property in New Jersey to get a better view of New York. He hired a man who hired another man. Cut them off and leave the debris there. The penalty per tree is $1,000, which is 1/
– Create alliances for the better and prepare for worse. (@SamAsIAm) June 26, 2023
Kinnelon City Court held a preliminary hearing on Tuesday afternoon and the Zoom connection was quickly becoming saturated with those seeking tree justice. The case has been adjourned and a new in-person hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Unfortunately, this illegal method of tree destruction – be it on private or public land – is not uncommon. In the early 2000s, Washington Commanders (then Redskins) owner Dan Snyder illegally felled 140 trees on land belonging to the national park system so he could get a better view of the Potomac River from his $10 million mansion. Snyder paid a $100 fine but added more than $1 million to his home’s value thanks to the unobstructed view of the Potomac. (In 2023, Snyder left the Washington Commanders organization and is considered one of the worst owners in the history of the sport. Karmic Justice? Tree Revenge?)
Every tree, whether in the Amazon or in your backyard, is important in the fight against climate change, and hefty fines for destroying it for no reason can help protect it—and by extension, us.
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about science fiction and how our world works. If you look closely, you can find his past stuff at Gizmodo and Paste.
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https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a44361060/new-jersey-man-cuts-down-neighbors-32-trees-fined/
