Residents near Perth in Western Australia were left disappointed after a mistake resulted in the destruction of a historic landmark.
As reported by Australia's ABC News, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) confirmed that it directed a contractor to trim an 800-year-old peppermint tree in the Ferguson Valley, two hours south of Perth. Unfortunately, the tree was cut down completely instead.
The stump was discovered by local tourism guide Peter Murphy, who intended to show the tree to a group of visitors from overseas.
"I was completely devastated," Murphy told ABC News. "I happened to take a couple of French tourists there to show the tree off as I usually do to visitors in the region, and when I came across it, it was just no more. It was basically a stump in the ground."
Reece Whitby, Western Australia's Environment Minister, said he was saddened by the development and called out the state government to provide an explanation.
"While I understand the department had given the arborist specific instructions to prune, rather than cut down the tree, this simply isn't good enough," Whitby said, per ABC. "I expect to receive a full account of what occurred, so I have the confidence this won't happen again."
The tree was located in Greater Wellington National Park and named after Bob Brown, a former federal Greens leader who visited the area in 1999. Brown said he was "shocked" and "appalled" to learn of the tree's destruction.
"It's an environmental crime," he told ABC. "That tree had been there for many centuries, it's harbored many species of wildlife … and suddenly it's destroyed."
A DBCA spokesperson told ABC the tree "had declined in condition" and an arborist was sent to assess the risk after long branches had fallen to the ground. The department is still working with a contractor to understand how the tree ended up being cut down.
Tree conservation is necessary for the health of our planet, as trees play a crucial role in combating air pollution by removing harmful carbon gases from the atmosphere. Cutting down historic trees can leave residents devastated.
Brown added that he believes there should be consequences for the egregious misstep.
"The people responsible [need to] face the music," Brown said in the ABC report. "It's just not good enough to shrug the shoulders or put it under wraps or hope that it will all go away. That peppermint tree basically still had another maybe two or three hundred years to go."
Murphy believes this loss will be felt in Western Australia for years to come.
"Generations in the future going to be absolutely appalled," he added. "The community, at the moment, are grieving."
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