The queen of green has some explaining to do.
According to news reports, Bette Midler has been accused of chopping down more than 230 trees around one of her properties on the Hawaiian island of Kauai–without a permit.
It may not sound like a big deal to you, but there are a couple of reasons why the news is making headlines in the Aloha State.
First of all, cutting down native (and non-native) trees in picturesque Hawaii is a major offense. Currently, The state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources is recommending the actress pay $6,500 in fines for chopping down the trees and for building a graded road without permits required for the land zoned for conservation use.
Second, the popular entertainer is one of the most outspoken proponents of the environment. It’s really hard to believe that the resident tree hugger would uproot an entire forest of greens. Midler has received wide acclaim for her longtime commitment to natural causes. At one point she was known as the “Compost Queen” for appearing on billboards in California advocating green recycling containers for yard trimmings.
Speaking about the incident, Midler told news reporters she didn’t realize permits were required to remove the trees on the vacant 58,000-square-foot parcel of land she owns on Kauai’s North Shore.
Midler’s attorney issued this statement after the incident went public: “The whole idea with cutting the trees down was with the idea of improving the lot with native species” instead of the nonnative, invasive species that had grown there. It’s unfortunate that a mistake was made.”
The actress (who, by the way, was born in Honolulu) says she intends to pay the fines and will follow a replanting program designed by the National Tropical Botanical Garden, which maintains three gardens on Kauai (a.k.a. the Garden Isle). Workers with the group say the replanting plan consists of reestablishing the growth of native plants in the area. For the record, a botanist hired by Midler said of the trees that were felled, 120 were Java plum trees, 100 were octopus trees and 20 others were Madagascar olive trees—-all of which are nonnative species. However, the botanist did say some native trees also were removed from the property.