One or more vandals are cutting chunks of sought-after wood from maple trees in Corvallis’ Willamette Park. Officials say the illegal poaching will likely kill the trees.
The burls, rounded masses of specialized tree tissue prized by artists and furniture makers for their unique patterns, can fetch a high dollar, said Jennifer Killian, an urban forester with the city of Corvallis.
“They are very tough, resistant to splitting and absolutely stunning,” Killian said. “They’re prized for their use in woodworking.”
The burls don’t serve a particular purpose. But for the injured trees, the cost of cutting them out is likely death.
The first tree was vandalized in December, and so far, 25 burls have been cut out of six trees. Killian estimates the trees range in age from 75 to 100 years old.
Corvallis police Lt. Benjamin Harvey said a detective has been assigned to the case, but he declined to offer more details on an open investigation.
The trees have been cut in multiple places and some of the burls are as big as 4 feet by 3 feet. All of that tissue underneath the superficial bark layer is critical in transporting nutrients to the rest of the tree. With the amount of tissue removed, the trees could starve to death.
They’re also vulnerable to a host of other threats.
When a tree is pruned in the proper place, specialized cells kick into gear and seal over the wound, protecting it from pests, disease or other harmful infestations which might feed on the vulnerable heart wood. But the poached burls are cut from an area where those cells don’t function, so the heartwood will be exposed for as long as the tree lives.
“These trees have been incredibly, irreparably stressed by the damage that was done,” Killian said.
She said she’s putting the trees on a monitor list and that how long they survive depends on a host of factors, including how hot the summer is and how healthy the trees were to begin with.
“I think that we’ll see decline happen very quickly,” she said.
The burls are being cut out with chainsaws and, given their size, she speculates more than one person might be doing it. Community members have heard chainsaws in the park late at night and told Parks and Rec officials they assumed it was park maintenance. Killian said that would only happen in the rarest of tree emergencies and that if neighbors hear chainsaws, they should report it, just to be safe.
“The trees that provide innumerous ecosystem service benefits to the community and to the park and to the natural area around the park are being taken away,” she said. “It’s just a senseless horrific act.”
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