Orihuela golf course boss accused of illegally felling pine trees in protected areas

The trees were cut down close to the Sierra Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor natural areas of Orihuela in the Vega Baja region of Alicante province

The manager of a golf course in Orihuela is under investigation and could face a fine of up to one million euros for allegedly felling pine trees in a protected area and storing the wood without any authorisation.

At the end of January, a member of the public tipped off the Guardia Civil's Nature Protection Service (Seprona) to the fact a large number of trees had been cut down close to the Sierra Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor, a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA).

A team of environmental officers immediately visited the site and discovered a mountain of felled Mediterranean pines of the Pinus helepensis variety.

The affected land, around 200m2, is partly located within the facilities of the golf course, and investigators set about identifying whoever had illegally cut down the trees.

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On February 10, Seprona located the manager of the golf course and asked him to provide the administrative documentation necessary to carry out the felling and accumulation of wood, but there was "no documentation whatsoever", according to a police statement.

Due to the "seriousness of the facts" and the "consequent risk of disease and fire that could be generated by the uncontrolled accumulation of wood", Seprona has alerted Orihuela Town Hall and a report denouncing the manager has been submitted to the Valencia Government's Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition.

The Guardia Civil has reminded that Law 03/1993, of 9 December 1993, Forestry of the Valencian Community, "aims to establish the specific legal regime of the forests or forest land" located in the Region, with economic sanctions that could reach up to one million euros for infractions.

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Image: Guardia Civil