Tree cutting at Tahoe sparks indictment
RENO -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Nevada woman on allegations she hired a crew to cut down three large pine trees up to a century old on U.S. Forest Service land at Lake Tahoe, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Patricia Vincent, 58, of Incline Village was indicted by the grand jury in Reno last week on two charges, including theft of government property.
The three ponderosa pine trees, from 80 to 100 years old each, were growing on a national forest lot the Forest Service had designated as environmentally sensitive as part of a plan to help protect the clarity of Lake Tahoe. The property is across the street from the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Incline Village Championship Golf Course.
The indictment accuses Vincent of hiring a commercial tree removal business in April to cut down the trees to enhance her view. The damage exceeded $10,000, the indictment said.
