Someone is butchering young trees along some of P.E.I.’s beloved trails [Video]

Someone is cutting the limbs and tops off dozens of small coniferous trees along walking trails in Prince Edward Island. 

Volunteers maintaining trails in Bonshaw, Strathgartney, Dunk River and Winter River have noticed small pine, spruce and fir trees with middle limbs or tops either cut or torn off. That’s a concern for Island Trails, the non-profit group that works to promote, develop, and maintain P.E.I.’s network of hiking paths.

“It’s very troubling, because it doesn’t seem to make any sense,” said Bryson Guptill, the group’s director of trail maintenance. 

At first, they thought people were cutting boughs to craft Christmas decor, but then they noticed the boughs and tree tops that were chopped off had been left behind, not removed. 

“I think someone thinks that these trees are going to encroach on the trail eventually, and so they’re trying to get ahead of the game,” Guptill said.

“We don’t …