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Vandals fell tree in Borg's Woods
(by K. Darius Amos - December 05, 2007)
Less than a month after school children and volunteers wandered through Borg’s Woods, ridding the county park of garbage and other unsightly debris, vandals wreaked havoc within the landscape’s wooded environment. In addition to dumping trash on the grounds, unknown persons also put a permanent dent in the woods’ canopy and felled one of its trees.
Early last week, Hackensack residents reported that alongside a half dozen empty beer cans they found that a large tree was cut down, perhaps through the use of a personal gardening axe or tool. While on a routine walk through the woods, resident Christine Dominguez was one of the first to have spotted the irregularity.
“I walk my dog in Borg’s Woods all the time. It is a wonderful retreat and serene,” said Dominguez, who noticed the downed tree and beverage containers last Wednesday.
“I noticed that a huge tree had been cut down by an amateur; it’s apparent that they used a small hand axe.”
Dominguez notified Hackensack’s Eric Martindale, one of the founders of the Borg’s Woods Preservation Coalition and helped establish it as a Bergen County Park and nature preserve. According to Martindale, the downed tree, an American Beech, measured 87 feet tall and 1½ feet in circumference. The tree’s approximate age, he said, is 100 years.
On top of the vandalism, Martindale also expressed concern about the dangers of falling trees, which could put juveniles or other unsuspecting youths in harm’s way. He suggested that the suspects are most likely younger, perhaps juveniles.
“I can tell from the small chop marks that this tree wasn’t cut by a real man,” Martindale said in an e-mailed statement to Hackensack Chronicle.
At press time, authorities could not reveal a motive or possible suspects, but there was intention to cause harm. The tree was in good health, and a cutting tool of some sort was needed to chop the tree. Relatively not difficult to locate, the suspects wandered some 25 feet west from the woods’ main trail to the tree.
Though located in more than 15 acres of Hackensack woodlands, the vandalism incident was turned over to the Bergen County Police, which hold jurisdiction over the county park. Investigators were said to have canvassed the site.
Martindale said the empty beer cans, which were stored in a plastic bag, might lead authorities to a suspect. Though rain washed through the area last week, the bag preserved its contents, and the beverage containers still had fingerprints imprinted on their surface.
The investigation is ongoing.
Though some of its trees might be older, the woods is officially just more than two centuries old. The struggle to protect Borg’s Woods, located adjacent to Hackensack’s Fairmount Avenue and Allen and Byrne streets, has been an ongoing battle.
From 1986 to 1995, ideas swirled and clashed about the future use of the woods, which were once owned by the Borg family, owners of North Jersey Media Group. A mix of political agendas, suburban development and grassroots efforts locked horns. Developers marked the plot for condominiums but others hoped to preserve the woodlands.
In the end, the county approved the purchase of land from the Borg family and designated the land as a nature preserve and county park. Now, community groups and volunteers, along with the county, take their turn looking after the woods.
As evidence from the recent cleanup effort in November, many residents still dump garbage into the woods. Shopping carts, motor vehicle parts, beverage containers and other junk end up along the trails. Part of the reason, Martindale said, is people aren’t aware of the preservation.
“If the trail system was better developed and identified as a nature trail system, local vandals would fear being reported to the police by mature, responsible adults walking the trails, and this would discourage vandalism,” Martindale said.
“More visitors means less vandalism, not more.”
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