Help council catch tree vandals
TWEED Mayor Katie Milne is calling on the community to help put an end to the "senseless” vegetation destruction in the shire.
The council reported vandals used a chainsaw to cut down two weeping lilly pillies at Col Wiley Park and destroyed another by cutting about 75% through its trunk near Byangum Bridge last month.
The council also discovered another 20 river mangroves had been cut down last week at the river bank adjacent to Tweed Valley Way, near Bartletts Rd, Tumbulgum.
Vandals also set fire to a new riverside planting of lomandra in the same area.
"Trees are not just for amenity, they provide important habitat and act as a buffer to erosion,” Cr Milne said.
"River bank vegetation has a vital role to play along Tweed Valley Way in preventing erosion of this major road, which is costing council millions in revetment works.
"We need the community to understand the significance and get on board to provide information to help us catch vegetation vandals.”
Tweed Shire Council's acting engineering director Danny Rose said he was disappointed by the acts.
"The area where the mangroves have been cleared would not provide easy access to the river anyway, so we are at a loss to understand why someone would do this,” he said.
