Five healthy and mature bur oak and basswood trees were "illegally" cut down last week in Cedar Lake Park, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is asking for help identifying those responsible.

In a statement Tuesday, the board said the vandalism occurred either Feb. 26 or 27 with the use of a chain saw.

The trees were estimated to be about 35 years old and likely damaged others when they fell, said Dawn Sommers, a spokesperson for the board.

They were located near Cedar Lake Parkway and W. Franklin Avenue, near Cedar Point Beach and paths for walking and biking.

Sommers said the cleanup cost about $1,200 and the five felled trees are likely valued at another several thousand dollars.

Anyone who saw the use of a handsaw or chain saw, or any other suspicious behavior, in the area on those dates is asked to contact the Minneapolis park police at 612-230-6550.

The incident marks another occasion in which vandals targeted trees in recent months in Minnesota. In November, 60 newly planted trees were uprooted in St. Paul and thrown in the Mississippi River.

In December, a man chopped down $10,000 worth of Christmas trees in a lot in Pine County. The same month, a Christmas tree in downtown Northfield was cut down the morning of the city's holiday festival.