Dozens of young trees were stolen from a Juneau wetlands restoration site.
The theft of nearly 75 red-twig dogwood trees was discovered Tuesday at the site of the Nancy Street stream restoration and wildlife enhancement project. The loss is a setback for the multi-agency project.
"It certainly does look like someone actually removed them, and not just ripped them out of the ground, but took some time and effort to get the whole root ball," said Samia Savell, a watershed planner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Almost 200 dogwood trees were planted at the site, according to Michele Elfers, a landscape architecture intern for the city. None of the other plants that were transplanted from other parts of Juneau for the project were taken, she said.
Police are baffled by the case.
"They estimated they were valued at $700, which makes it a felony offense," Capt. Jerry Nankervis said. "We have no idea who might have done it or where those plants might be."
City, state and federal agencies are spearheading the project, located on the property of the Church of the Nazarene.
The project was launched last year with excavated fill from the new Mendenhall Valley high school site. Rocks and dirt were used to fill one of three gravel pits from the 1950s that turned into a murky pond and has been nearly void of wildlife for decades.
The missing foot-tall trees -- planted for erosion control -- were taken from the side of a pond, leaving a vacant patch.
"It's not so much the financial cost of the dogwoods. It's just this project has involved so many people," Savell said. "To have portions of it vandalized or stolen, it takes away from the site itself and it kind of damages a lot of people's time and effort."Associated Press via Anchorage Daily News
