On March 26 or 27, Lake Wilderness Arboretum was vandalized.

A fence near the nursery’s plant holding area was cut deliberately. A preliminary investigation detected tampering but no apparent theft. It is unclear whether the vandalism took place at night or during the day. Garden manager Susan Goodell and volunteer Bill Paine made temporary repairs to close the hole in the fence.

The arboretum has a camera system set up to record activity in the area. This system will be checked for clues as to the identification of the vandals.

In addition, thieves stole an open lock from the front gate, as well as the combinations to all of the fence locks. This forced property manager Bob Wahlberg to replace the stolen lock, change the remaining lock combinations and start researching alternative security systems that are more effective and likely more expensive.

If anyone has any information about the vandalism or thefts, contact the Maple Valley Police.