The Portland International Jetport has been ordered to stop cutting trees near the runways until authorities can determine whether the project went too far.
Neighbors sounded their vehement opposition to the tree-cutting before city councilors, arguing that the airport had no right to cut down so many trees, which happen to be home to local amphibians and birds.
Kevin Muse who lives near the trees being cut said he was shocked at what he saw.
Muse compared the tree clearing to waking up and suddenly realizing his house had been bulldozed.
“There was zero notice,” he told city councilors.
Critics claim the tree-chopping has endangered salamanders, tree frogs, and woodpeckers.
The Federal Aviation Administration project is designed to make the area safer for planes.
The airport is located in the middle of a densely populated area of Maine
The question at issue is how many trees had to be felled to meet the safety benchmarks for planes flying overhead.
Airport officials said the tree clearing at the nearby Calvary Cemetery was required to comply with FAA regulations to maintain a safe flight path to the airport.
The property is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese, which gave the green light for the tree removal.
South Portland Planning Director Milan Nevajda said the city approved plans several years ago to allow for some tree thinning, but he’s now concerned some of the clearing work went too far.
“The work that was done seems to be beyond what was permitted,” Nevajda said. He issued a stop-work order to investigate.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="35018 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=35018">11 Comments
Parking please!
The property is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese, which gave the green light for the tree removal. They are a Non-profit who get’s half of its funding from the Federal Gov. USAID. That is group ID for over spending by DOGE.
Ask Pingree about who she votes for!
Money is not the issue, sell the land to the airport. Catholic Relief Services, which receives the highest amount of funds from USAID, said it will need to downsize by as much as 50% this year due to Trump’s targeting of the agency, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
Oh cry me a river .Cut whatever trees need to be cut to make the airport SAFE .
Screw Kevin Muse and his frogs and lizards .
Can’t we just relocate the frogs and salamanders to Lewiston ?
There are lots of protected species up there .
“Critics claim the tree-chopping has endangered salamanders, tree frogs, and woodpeckers.”
vs.
“Airport officials said the tree clearing at the nearby Calvary Cemetery was required to comply with FAA regulations to maintain a safe flight path to the airport.”
Easy call for those who have even half a brain.
Milan Nevajda….. bet he is from south of the Kittery Bridge. And South Portland makes him their planner….
Let the trees keep growing higher every year until a fatal airliner crash proves that they might need to be cut. That is the way Portland thinks and is one of the reasons I chose to drive down to BOS rather than fly out of PWM.
Sounds like California and their “control ” of the water ! Wait till a plane crashes into houses before we do anything…loosers!
Airport safety is paramount. Lets be level headed here.
Would this be a problem if trees were being cut for solar panels?