Interesting reading on this thread. Whatever the offender gets as punishment, it should include them having to remove every tree they cut down. They made the mess, now they can clean it up!!!!!

Bob

Bob,

I agree with you 100%. I hope the Fed's figured out what the value of a 12-18 inch tree was worth, then the value it adds to a lake as far as soil erosion control costs, ect. Those trees acted somewhat as wave breaks and now the property owners around them will have much worse soil erosion as a result of them.

I'll be the first one out there with a rope to hang over the nearest tree that is still standing once they get a conviction. The damage that the guilty person has done will be felt and seen for decades to come.

The value of a tree to the Feds is about $100 per caliper inch, but they cut so many inches, I doubt they would enforce it.

Someone should document the story, try to get some sort of reference from the Corp or whoever is negotiating a settlement, and report all of it to the EPA. Seems it would be a charge of destroying a wet land or something. The EPA can be a real pain, especially for developers, so there may already be some friction there. Would be a shame for the Corp to settle something on behalf of the Feds before the EPA could weigh in with more charges.

As a resident (and taxpayer) in Corinth I am anxiously waiting the announcement. This whole thing is absurd from the very beginning and if the culprits aren't required to somewhat restore some of the destruction to the fishery I smell an inside job.
No way someone did this timed to when the lake patrol wasn't around and cut that many large trees w/o some inside help.

If they are treated hard (like you and I would be were we caught doing something this stupid/damaging) I will believe that it was their men who lucked out and almost got away with it.
HOWEVER if they get off with a minor slap and make millions off of this AND then the minimal fine is taken by the government instead of doing the correct thing and using it on the lake I will for ever believe there is some pay offs and corruption in the mix.

Of course it was!!! Who else would be so short and absent minded as to do such a thing! Folks want to live on koi ponds, not lakes!!!!! Mornons!!!

I agree with you. I have fished Lewisville for years mostly west of the 35 bridge but when the water level rises, I'll be very cautious about getting to my usual spots. Many of those trees were in very shallow water and the stumps left appear to be a foot to 18 inches above ground so they are going to be a hazard as well as the floating logs. I really hope the EPA gets involved before the whole thing is settled. It would be great if the news or the Corp could just say "who dunnit" so others would have hards facts to take to the EPA or any other agency before the crime just gets swept under the rug and the fine/settlement becomes "just a cost of doing business" and probably a tax deductible one at that.
c.j.

Back to the top

I think this EPA angle that's been mentioned sure enough deserves some good collective studying on by our group here. I can't help but think that out of all those trees that got cut down, there was bound to have been at least one endangered critter living in or around those trees who's been displaced and harmed by destroying their habitat. It could have been some obscure little fish, frog, bird, snake or helgramite but surely there was one.

I want to see the environmental impact statement that was in place before proceeding with this tree cutting and destruction of this wetland habitat. Given the fluctuating lake levels transitioning from wet to dry where those trees were dam sure qualifies it as an official wetland.
Anyone got any contacts who are in the Sierra Club? I think they get behind stuff like this, and they do know how to stir the pot for sure.

If not for some EPA type of action, I have a terrible feeling that this allegedly politically connected fat cat will or has greased enough skids to slide right through this deal with nothing more than a token slap on the wrist. Whoever he is, that just wouldn't be right but I can sure see how it could happen easy enough. Money makes it all work and if you have enough, you can get away with just about anything. Y'all remember a local fella named Cullen Davis?

Jon

north texas fiberglass (or anyone else who has seen the impacted area first-hand):

is the impacted area truly a 'wetland'? here's the EPA's definition: Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.

I hope no one prematurely harassed Blake Pressley or the Pressley Group - a developer is more likely than a home builder to have been involved in something like this. I can vouch for the Pressley Group and would be completely astounded if it's his name (not Pinnell's) that comes out. I just hate to see anyone jump the gun and ruin the reputation of a good, small, locally owned business.

I doubt anyone prematurely harrassed anyone, but a lot of people (including me - a homeowner in Lewisville) will be watching the outcome very closely.

concerning the EPA, i agree it would be good to ensure they know about the extensive tree cutting.

as sheldon pointed out earlier, our local media initially reported a "multi-million dollar settlement"...but now it's only in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range.

what the heck?!?!

This is a bunch of dukie! It smells of rotten politics and someone is paying their way out of this one. If they were identified three weeks ago...tell me why we haven't heard who they are? What do think would happen to the average person once they were caught? It's all about money.

If it were you or I cutting even a single tree down, you can bet your arse we would be arrested and our names would be all over the news the very next day!!!!!!!!! F these m' fers. Where the he11 is the press release with these a'holes names. I need to know who to start sending letters about to my congressmen and other political figures. This is a travesty of justice. And their sentence better include cleaning up every last one of the trees they cut down!!!!!!!

BB

still can't figure out for certain if the hickory creek area is considered wetlands...? of course, the loss of the trees will likely lead to soil erosion....
come to find...there are 7 threatened & endangered species in denton county per TP&WD:
- white-faced ibis - interior least tern
- whooping crane - timber/canebrake rattlesnake
- bald eagle - texas horned lizard
- wood stork

...just need to get those peta folks on this <lol>