Independent assessment indicates valuable wildlife tree near Beaver Lake was standing safe and sound
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – A private arborist report dated October 3, 2025, contradicts the City of Vancouver’s explanation of why a 400-year-old, 33-metre tall, 91-centimeter-wide wildlife tree on the South Creek Trail just south of Beaver Lake was felled August 22, 2025. The city claims that the tree was dead and there was bark precariously hanging over the trail, posing a safety risk.
Provincially certified tree risk assessor Norman Oberson was retained by Stanley Park Preservation Society to assess the felled tree on September 14 and September 18, 2025. Oberson’s report states the tree had been standing 5.5 metres from the trail with no lean, therefore there could not have been bark hanging over the trail. Moreover, Oberson states that the evidence shows that the tree had been completely debarked prior to felling, because there was no bark remaining on the felled trunk nor on the adjacent ground. The conclusion is that because all bark was removed, precariously hanging bark could not have been a reason to fell the tree.
Oberson’s report states that he sounded the stump and felled trunk with a mallet and found them to be solid except for the top 4.5 metres of the tree. As to the deteriorated top, Oberson states: “The natural decay (cubicle rot) on the upper 15 feet of the trunk was typical for an older tree and did not represent a danger. As a Douglas fir deteriorates over many years, sapwood and heartwood debris, which are significantly smaller and lighter than bark, fall to the base of the tree and do not represent a hazard. Such natural deterioration does not suggest that the tree is unstable or that it is likely to fall.”
A second certified tree risk assessor, Kris Olsen, used an increment bore to directly sample the heartwood and verify Oberson’s finding of tree stability. Olsen stated that he confirmed Oberson’s findings. Olsen’s written report will be forthcoming.
Oberson states that the felled Douglas fir had high wildlife value, as well as historic and recreational values. He states that even if a tree was assessed as dangerous, the Park Manager is responsible for considering alternative danger mitigation strategies before deciding to fell the tree.
Stanley Park Preservation Society will be appearing before the Supreme Court of British Columbia in November 2025 to help preserve Stanley Park by block further unnecessary and destructive logging. We are in need of financial support for this legal effort. Please contribute.
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