Latest news with #NicoleTattam
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Trees downed illegally along Yukon River in Whitehorse
Someone has downed trees in two areas of Whitehorse along the Yukon River. City parks supervisor Nicole Tattam told the News that it appears aspen trees have been cut down by a chainsaw in the area below the Rotary Centennial Bridge by the dam, on the Riverdale side of the banks of the Yukon River, as well as behind the Nisutlin outdoor rink in Riverdale. While the city has seen some minor illegal tree cutting in the past, Tattam said that she's never seen anything like this in such a public place. 'Sometimes you'll get the odd spot where you can see, say, maybe somebody's gone in to cut some downed trees without permission, you know, for firewood or something, on a much smaller scale,' she told the News on May 29. 'But nothing kind of like this, where somebody has been so tidy and stacked up everything so neatly after the fact, and for what purposes, we don't know,' she said. She added that behind the rink, the wood was removed, but in the area below the bridge, the wood from the aspen trees that were cut was left there, neatly stacked. 'Trees are important, and it's part of being, you know, part of being the wilderness city is we don't want everybody just going and randomly cutting trees on public lands,' Tattam said, adding that public land is for everybody. 'It's not fair to say, like, oh yeah, just go cut these trees for firewood. Or, you know, you want your view to be better, or something from your house,' she said. Tattam said the rules are in place to preserve and protect the trees. Despite that, Tattam said there are some mechanisms by which people can cut trees in the city legally. If people have a tree that poses a hazard to their property, or is in the way of a potential renovation, they can get authorization from the city to remove those trees. There is also authorization available for people interested in harvesting very small amounts of firewood from downed trees. There are also designated areas of town, administered by the Yukon government, where people can harvest wood for personal fuel use with a permit. Of course, people can also cut down conifers for their Christmas trees in December from areas identified by the Yukon government. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
30-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Whitehorse officials stumped by rogue lumberjack who leaves logs, but no leads
Whitehorse city officials are asking for the public's help to figure out who is chopping down trees along the Millennium Trail. "It's a bit of a mystery at this point," said Nicole Tattam, the city's parks supervisor. Tattam said they assume it's not for firewood, because in one instance, whoever did it left the wood stacked neatly in place. The felled trees are also aspen, which she said is not a very popular firewood because it burns quickly, produces a lot of smoke and doesn't produce a lot of heat. Another hypothesis is vigilante FireSmarting — an effort to reduce the risk of fires spreading, should any start up in the area. "Possibly looks like they were [dead] leaning trees, so that was one thing that came to mind, but we're just not sure," Tattam said. Tattam said bylaw officers don't have any leads at the moment. She said her team is focusing on education. She said only city employees can cut down standing trees. Homeowners can submit a "tree removal request" to have a tree removed — for example, if it's threatening to fall through their roof. Residents can also apply for a "cutting authorization" to take up to one cord of wood from logs on the forest floor. She said the city usually responds to applications within a day or two. Tattam said instances like this are rare. "This was just a lot of trees, and as far as we can tell, live trees, in a very, very public area."
