A married couple from Roland, Arkansas, decided to cut down 100 of their neighbor’s trees so they could enjoy a better view of the lake.
One problem: the neighbor is the the Ouachita National Forest.
KARK reports that Dennis Rainey and his wife Barbara contracted landscapers to cut down or shave off the tops off the Ouachita Trail’s trees that blocked their view of Lake Maumelle.
The Pulaski County Sherriff’s Office is investigating and say what the Raineys did was illegal.
Central Arkansas Water owns the affected property and they are ripping.
Raven Lawson, a rep of CAW said, “We don’t take things like this lightly. The tops of the trees look like something out of the Lorax.”
Lawson added that her company has fielded numerous complaints from angry hikers about the damage and explained that some of them even watched as hired contractors — six men in all — took chainsaws to the trees.
“The view to the lake could definitely be increased– the view to Pinnacle mountain could be increased… there’s definitely a lot of nature that could produce million dollar views out here,” she added.
Until authorities complete the investigation, CAW says they will not pick up the debris left behind by the contractors.
Meanwhile, Dennis Rainey defended his actions Monday and said he thought he had permission to go ahead with the tree removal.
“We… did top multiple trees and cut 4 pines. However, we did so under the assumption that previously granted permission from a Little Rock Water executive was still in effect,” he told the outlet.
He and his wife, who have lived at their location since 1983, called the unauthorized landscaping “our unintentional mistake.”
The two could face charges of first degree criminal mischief.