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."

Tattam said she encourages residents to bring any concerns regarding trees or FireSmarting within city limits to the municipality. She says the Yukon government is also working hard at FireSmarting around the city so "if you're wanting to do that type of work, connect with the Parks department first."