A mature maple tree near the reservoir in Cobbs Hill Park has fallen victim to vandalism. The maple, which stood about 50 feet tall, was chopped down with an ax, says Paul Holahan, city commissioner of environmental services. The vandalism was reported to city officials on Wednesday, May 27, and appears to have happened over the Memorial Day weekend.

"It was a big tree and it could have come down and injured someone," he says.

This is the first time that Holahan has seen this type of vandalism at Cobbs Hill Park, he says. The park is maintained by the city.

Holahan could not put a dollar value on the tree, which appeared to be more than 60 years old. But, he says, "there is a real cost to this kind of thing. There's the value of the tree and the expense of having city forestry remove it."

The trunk of the tree was resting on the stump and sitting several feet off the ground. Holahan had the tree removed immediately so no one would get hurt.

Holahan plans to file a police report, but he says he's not confident that the perpetrators will be caught.

"This appears to be some kind of senseless prank," he says. "What a waste."

A power tool was used to cut down 15 trees recently at Brighton High School, which is close to Cobbs Hill. The investigation into that incident is ongoing, says Sgt. David Molisani, of the Brighton Police Department. 

It's unknown if the Cobbs Hill and Brighton tree vandalisms are linked.