Trees are a huge bonus to property values and can mean a lot to homeowners. That's why, after ice storms this year and last year, so many tried to save what trees they could.

But a neighborhood near Battlefield Road at Jefferson Avenue is losing its canopy, not because of Mother Nature, but rather the federal government.

Paula Daniel fell in love with her home at the first backyard view.

"The trees were beautiful, with birds and everything,” she said. “It was the main reason we selected this place."

So, when a flyer from a tree cutting company arrived, it didn't mean much.

“One day in the mail we received a small packet that had a CD in it; we didn't really think much about it,” said Daniel.

Nor did an inspector checking on her power lines. He mentioned her trees might need to be cut back from the lines but she didn’t have to do so. It turns out she didn't have a choice.

“Nobody came to us; nobody told us. We've just watched them systematically move from yard to yard tearing down trees,” said Daniel.

Daniel and her neighbors say it was never made clear what was really going on. Their power lines are federally protected and, last summer, new regulations on vegetation now require no trees under 50-feet easements.

"Electricity can arc and people can get killed. Property can get damaged; there can be fires and outages,” said Beth Nielsen, a representative of the Southwest Power Administration, in a telephone interview.

"We all understand there has to be guidelines how easements work but there are some things that are up to discretion,” said Daniel.

What the trees meant was not up to discretion.

“It's stories, it's children,” said Daniel. “Those stories are gone."

"I know we at least made some attempt to let people know. I apologize if we didn't do as good of a job as we should have,” said Nielsen.

"It's a very helpless feeling,” said Daniel.

Southwestern Power Administration manages those lines and says the heartache shouldn't happen again after this round of clearing. Nielsen says its staff will be aggressive in reminding residents to keep those easements clear.