Environmental agency catches man felling valuable madroño tree in Querétaro

Environmental authorities in Querétaro, Mexico, apprehended a man in the act of illegally felling a madroño tree in the municipality of San Juan del Río. The man, the chainsaw used, and the harvested wood were subsequently handed over to the Attorney General's Office for federal investigation.

The operation, conducted in coordination with the participatory environmental monitoring committee "Activos del Bosque," occurred on July 2nd. Profepa personnel, alerted by the sound of a chainsaw during surveillance, utilized a drone and ground patrols to locate the individual. They found the man cutting down a madroño tree that had previously survived a forest fire, indicating a potential crime against biodiversity.

The madroño tree (Arbutus xalapensis) is highly valued for its ecological and economic significance. According to Pronatura México AC, it possesses "great ecological and economic value" and is used for crafts, firewood, charcoal, and tool handles due to its hard, dense, reddish wood. It also has medicinal properties and is crucial for providing habitat and food for wildlife, making it suitable for ecological restoration programs.

Profepa emphasized that collaborative actions like these strengthen the timely detection of illicit activities and contribute to forest conservation efforts in Mexico. The suspect's identity was not released, but images showed him with the chainsaw next to the damaged tree.