HONOLULU -- Someone is chopping down the trees on Windward Oahu.

Heeia residents noticed a man using a machete to cut down the trees along Kamehameha Highway, near Heeia State Park. They said he started six months ago, but nothing has been done about it.

The Outdoor Circle said the trees will not grow back. What was once a lush forest area is now dotted with tree stumps. “Every stump that you see here has clearly been hacked off by a machete,” said Bob Loy, of the Outdoor Circle.

“It’s really turning a really beautiful area ugly. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of habitat for wildlife. The trees do a certain amount to keep pollution out of the water. They take water out of the ground when it rains heavily,” Loy said. “It just shows a disregard for what is obviously public property.”

The Outdoor Circle came out to investigate last year and could not find the mysterious tree chopper. However, KITV4 found the culprit with the help of the community.

They call him Jimmy. They said he is harmless and he uses wood from the cut trees to build shelter for himself along Kamehameha Highway across from Heeia State Park.

KITV4 tried to talk to Jimmy, but he declined to comment on the tree chopping.

“When you look at this kind of carnage, it’s pretty easy to think that whoever’s doing it really just doesn’t care,” Loy said.

But some residents insist, Jimmy does care. “He cleans up everything from the beginning of the bridge all the way to the end of the pier,” said Heeia resident Kama Kalahiki. “He picks up rubbish, he paints by the pier, the pillars and stuff. I think it’s a public service. I mean, he does it for free,” he said.

Boaters at Heeia Kea Pier said the community knows and supports Jimmy. They said he often comes around, asking for little jobs in exchange for food.

Still, Loy and other residents are concerned about the permanent loss of dozens of trees. “They’re not going to recover from this. These trees are gone and we’d like something done about it,” Loy said. “So far, nothing’s really been done. I think there’s a little problem over whose jurisdiction this might be. No one really knows for sure.”

The state Land Department did not return KITV4’s calls.