Vandals Chop Down Trees at Bemidji City Park Disc Golf Course

While visiting the Bemidji City Park Disc Golf Course, you’ll see hundreds of trees that may look the same, but the Parks & Recreation took notice when six of them were chopped down. While touring the course in April, Parks & Recreation Director Marcia Larson noticed that five oak trees and one mountain ash tree had been hacked down on hole 10.

The Parks Department estimates that the largest tree was 38-years-old, while the rest were estimated to be around 20-years-old. “You cannot replace a 20-year-old tree,” Larson said. “It amounts basically to vandalism.”

Larson believes the trees were chopped down to widen the fairway to make it easier to play. She said that the course was made challenging on purpose and the course was designed to ensure that the trees would be taken care of.

The city has taken action in the past against people caught damaging trees and hopes the responsible party will make a donation to the city for tree replacement. The Parks Department says the cost of planting new saplings would be about three hundred and fifty dollars per tree.