Nullagine outraged at tree lopping

Nullagine residents were up in arms last week after they discovered a number of trees had been lopped at the town's southern entrance.

Community members embarked on a mission to find the "tree-killing bandit" after they discovered the "ancient" river gums had been given the chop.

Fingers were pointed at BHP Billiton, which had scheduled a heavy move through the area on the same weekend.

However, inquiries made by the North West Telegraph found the mining giant was not to blame for the assumed covert pruning operation.

Nullagine residents of 20 years Biddy and Werner Schill said they first discovered their “beloved” trees were felled on Saturday, February 16.

“Someone’s come into the town and removed the trees,” Mr Schill said.

“They would be between 100 and 200 years old — it’s all the town can talk about.

“Everyone is upset about it, there are a lot of angry people and a lot of tears.

“There’s nothing flash about Nullagine — but it’s ruined the entry, the trees were a nice feature.”

Mr Schill’s sentiments were echoed by Marble Bar resi-dent Cheryl Fowler, who said of the lost trees: “I think it’s disgusting.”

After a concerted investigation by the North West Telegraph, which was assisted by staff members from BHP Billiton, it was discovered that trimming the gums was given the go-ahead by Main Roads.

Main Roads Pilbara regional manager Gary Player confirmed on Friday that the department was responsible for the felling.

“Main Roads did do some tree lopping adjacent to the Nullagine River floodway,” he said.

“This work, which involved the lopping and, in some cases, removal of six trees … was specifically done to address safety concerns associated with the proximity of these trees to the road and the chance of limbs or trees falling on road users.

“The safety issue was raised as an issue during the last wet season and was programmed some time ago.

“The cutting of the trees reinforced concerns that many of the limbs were rotting and were unsafe.”