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Kennebec Water District Files Complaint Over Tree Cutting on China Lake

June 22, 2010 - VASSALBORO -- The Kennebec Water District has filed a complaint against a Vassalboro man, alleging he cut trees on district land along China Lake near the source of drinking water for several towns.

The complaint, filed June 4 in Kennebec County Superior Court, says Marshall N. Crandall IV and/or his agents intentionally and without authorization cut and removed the trees.

Jeff LaCasse, the district’s general manager, said about 14 trees, several that were 30-to-40-inches in diameter, were cut and removed from the West Basin area of the lake. That area is the source of drinking water for Waterville, Winslow, Fairfield, Vassalboro, Benton and Oakland.

The district owns most of the shorefront property in the West Basin.

“Our property goes from shore to 150 feet in and they (trees) were probably between 100 and 150 feet from the water,” LaCasse said Tuesday.

The district bought most of its property there between 1910 and 1920 to provide a protective buffer for the lake water, he said. The district monitors water quality and the protective shoreland buffer as part of its watershed protective program.

LaCasse said district officials inspected the area with representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Maine Forestry Service, as well as with Vassalboro’s code enforcement officer.

“We are seeking monetary damages related to the illegal cutting of trees on our property,” LaCasse said, “but we also are seeking to send a message to other forestry operations around China Lake that our property is very important to us and to the water quality of the lake and that care should be taken to ensure that property boundaries are delineated prior to cutting operations.”

He said the district will be happy to help harvesters or landowners locate district property boundary lines to avoid similar situations in the future.
Crandall said Tuesday that he cut 8, not 14 trees, whose bases or stumps were on district property because they were either blown down in storms or damaged from beavers, and they fell across district property lines onto his land.

The fallen or damaged trees posed a danger to the 17 children that live in the area, Crandall said. He said parts of the trees were hanging and threatening to fall, in at least one case, on a driveway.

He said the remaining six trees he cut down were on his property, not the district’s land.

Crandall said he tried to negotiate with district officials to remove the trees, to no avail.

“They just got all mouthy about it — really weren’t neighborly at all,” he said.

Crandall said he is going to plant eight trees to replace those he removed.

“My loggers screwed up and took the bases,” he said.

He said he will fight the district’s complaint.

He also alleges that a vote residents took June 7 that created a resource protection zone along water bodies effectively took part of his 7 3/4 acres away from him.
He said he plans to close down an ITS snowmobile trail that runs on his property “to thank all my fellow neighbors” for approving the resource protection rules.

by Amy Calder, Kennebec Journal, June 22, 2010

Lakes: China Lake
Regions: Belgrade


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