Logging upsets residents

One resident said new growth is impossible with brush over the saplings.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- Burning Tree Lane resident Carol Reapsummer used to enjoy the view of natural woods behind her home. Now she prefers not to look in that direction.
Reapsummer said logging began several weeks ago on the 31-plus acres behind her home and will continue until all desirable trees in the area are removed. She said the logging process has left the wooded area with fallen trees, open spaces, and devoid of natural beauty with a view of the freeway.
"This is a disgrace. You would have to actually see it to believe it," she said. "We used to never see Interstate 80. You would have never known the trucks were running."
With the logging, Reapsummer said, wildlife such as deer, red-tailed hawks, squirrels and other animals have lost their natural habitat. She said new tree growth will take years with the high brush left lying on the ground.
Reapsummer said she and several other neighbors living closest to the wooded area tried to stop the logging before it got started. The neighbors offered the property owner $50,000 to buy the land but received no response, she said.
"[The offer] was a bargaining chip. We were thinking of about three or four thousand dollars an acre," she said. "We basically wanted a buffer zone for our property."
A for-sale sign on the property lists a phone number for Liberty Realty Inc. A phone message left at that office was not returned.
Reapsummer said the wooded area would have been turned into a natural preserve had the neighbors been successful in buying it.
Turned down offer
According to Reapsummer, the property owner offered her the 1.8 acres immediately behind her home for $15,000 -- an amount she is not willing to pay. She also said she was told the logging would stop if she was willing to pay the $25,000 value of the trees -- something else she is not willing to do.
Residents living in the neighborhood have spoken to trustees about the situation and plan to continue seeking help from lawmakers. Reapsummer said she doesn't want the same situation to happen to others with natural wooded areas around their homes.
"I just want people to beware of logging in general and don't let this happen to you," she said. "We tried to prevent this, but didn't get anywhere. This can happen in anyone's neighborhood if the logging rights are sold."
jgoodwin@vindy.com