100 Trees Stolen From Menomonee River Parkway

Destroyed trees and cages in Menomonee River Parkway. Photo by Graham Kilmer

Approximately 100 trees were stolen from the Menomonee River Parkway, according to a joint statement from Milwaukee County Parks and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).

The trees were only recently planted through a partnership between the two institutions and the nonprofit Milwaukee Riverkeeper, which planted 173 trees and native shrubs along the parkway. The monetary value of the trees was estimated between $4,000 and $6,000.

The theft was discovered by a neighborhood volunteer who went to water the trees and found only stumps. The thief, or thieves, cut them down and neatly stacked the wire cages. Parks doesn’t have many leads, yet, but it’s clear that whoever did this has some skill, said Peter Bratt

“Whoever did this had a lot of got the time to do it well, in their mind,” Bratt told Urban Milwaukee. “We’ve had other instances where trees have been yanked out or cut down, but nothing to this scale… this person is skilled.”

It was the second incident of arboreal theft in less than a year. A tree planting in Lyons Park was also targeted. That time, 30 to 50 trees were ripped out of the ground.

The tree planting project, located north of W. Burleigh Street, had strong support from neighbors and area groups, Bratt said. The neighborhood experienced significant flooding during the 1,000-year-storm in August 2025, and a major goal of the project was to reduce flooding along the river during future rain events, Bratt said.

Riparian trees and shrubs help manage flooding and stormwater during heavy rains by soaking up rain where it falls and reducing the amount of water that enters and, at times, overwhelms sewer systems. They also reduce the urban heat island effect and capture locally emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. The sewerage district is engaged in an ongoing effort to plant 6 million trees and restore 4,000 acres of wetlands over the course of a decade.

The habitat restoration project along the Menomonee River Parkway was expected to sequester an estimated 238,160 pounds of CO2 and capture 1,044,212 gallons of stormwater in the 40 years after the trees were planted, according to a parks report on the project from 2025.

“Both Milwaukee County Parks and MMSD take the unauthorized removal or damage of trees and other natural resources seriously,” the organizations said in their statement. “Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to report it to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.”

Site of Tree Theft