UPDATE: CAMDEN — Town Manager Audra Caler said Oct. 4 that, the person responsible illegally cutting vegetation and trees alongside the Camden Harbor waterfalls has come forward.

Caler said she is holding off with identifying the person or discussing a consent agreement, pending a report from Camden Police Dept. Detective Curt Andrick, and receiving a final tally from Dave St. Laurent on the number of trees cut down versus limbed, or a recommendation from an arborist on a restoration plan.

Town Manager Audra Caler has asked the Camden Police Department to help identify those responsible for cutting trees, sawing off limbs and dumping branches and vegetation over the side of a waterfront embankment near the Camden Harbor waterfalls.

The illegal cutting occurred sometime during this past week in the overnight hours, when the downtown was closed, and people upstairs in the old brick building apartments that overlook the Public Landing were likely asleep.

The trees (cherry and Norway maple, among others), lilac bushes and vines were either sawed down to their stumps, or left standing, with stunted limbs. 

Camden is mystified as to who so dramatically demolished the greenery that shades picnic tables on a this perch overlooking the falls.

Speculations are running wild, in conversations on the street or on Facebook, and amateur detectives are sifting through clues. No one has claimed responsibility so the motivation remains a mystery. 

By all accounts, however, it was an amateur rush job, and an inconsiderate affront to the town.

One of the trees growing there —and now gone — had been planted in honor of previous municipal officials, perhaps for former town managers Roberta Smith or Roger Moody, said Caler.

“Whoever did it doesn’t realize how important trees are for the community of Camden,” she said.

Camden has been a participant in Tree City USA for many years, planting news trees around town, and tending to the oldest trees of the community.

Among the top five issues she hears complaints about year-round have to do with tree-trimming and cutting – on the streets, in parks, and in those grey areas where public and private properties merge.

The area on the Public Landing where the illegal cutting took place is tucked in a corner, edged between the parking lot, a small building occupied by the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, the back sides of the buildings that front Main Street, and the water falls.

Its patch of scruffy grass is home to a few picnic tables and the old lighthouse bell for Curtis Island. The trees and vegetation mark the edge of the property before it is lined with granite slabs that descend to the water.

It is a regular haven for those slipping away for a quiet lunch, or visit with friends. Tourists stroll around, reading the plaque on the bell. The vegetation that was there, including a big bush of purple lilacs, was a natural habitat for birds and small wildlife.

The cutting came as a surprise to the town office when the calls started coming in.

“There were no town departments involved,” said Caler. “Nobody hired a contractor on behalf of the town to do it.”

There had been no discussions, or attempts to reach the town manager, about ideas for landscaping, or for cleaning or trimming the small area.

“Most people in Camden recognize that cutting trees or pruning trees on town property is completely unacceptable and people do not have authority to do it on their own,” she said. “It was a completely trespass situation, similar to Atlantic Ave.”

That last reference was a Sept. 3 consent agreement between the Town of Camden and private landowners of 22 Atlantic Avenue, where construction and landscaping work on a home there ultimately encroached on land own by the town. Six trees that grew alongside a brook were cut on the town property and four were illegally trimmed.

Camden responded with a notice citing violations of municipal zoning and public tree policy ordinances, trespass, and building permit terms.

The consent agreement included a mandatory restoration plan, and imposed financial penalties of $24,230.

Caler said the Public Landing situation echoed municipal concerns about trespass and violations of the town’s public tree policy ordinance. Additionally, the cutting occurred within the state’s shoreland zoning setback imposed to protect ocean, rivers and streams.

Camden has not yet informed the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection of what happened, said Caler.

She said that while some of the affected area is perceived to be private property, it is actually owned by the town.

The Pen Bay Chamber of Commerce has no idea who did the cutting.

“We do not have cameras on any corner of the building,” said Chamber Executive Director Tom Peaco.

As to why this occurred, Caler said: “I can only speculate and guess it had to do with someone wanting a particular view.”

She said the town’s Harbor Master had been approached by residents proposing the enhancement of the green space, but the town is, “not certain that these two things are related.”

Because people like to go sit there, they wanted less pavement and more green space, Caler said.

The town has an interest in that, as well,  she said.

“It would be nice to have an idea who did this,” said Caler. “It is a very disrespectful thing to do to the community.”

The town will be consulting with an arborist to see if the trees whose limbs were cut will survive, or need replacing.

“We will remove the brush and have somebody with expertise look at the trees,” she said. “Whoever did it doesn’t realize how important trees are for the community of Camden. It is pretty antithetical to what I’ve been lead to believe is an important value to the town. It is important they realize the harm they are doing.”

The police investigation has begun, she said.

“We have Detective Curt Andrick on it, to get to the bottom of this.”

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657