Yukon cabinet minister Archie Lang has been instructed to plant 30 spruce trees on Crown land where he and his wife, Karen, had trees cut down without the required permit.

Cory Chouinard, a territorial lands management officer, said Karen Lang was informed Wednesday of the decision by the lands branch, which falls under the minister's portfolio of Energy, Mines and Resources.

By their own admission, Chouinard explained, the Langs had trees removed last December from Crown land adjacent to their own private property located next to the Yukon River at the end of the Fox Farm Road.

A site investigation on May 18 was premature because spring growth had not yet greened up enough to accurately assess the extent of the disturbance on the Crown lot, he said.

Chouinard said following the recent site visit, it was decided to recommend that 30 white spruce be planted as a means of remediation, and that the remainder of the Yukon government lot in question be left to regenerate naturally.

The Langs had topsoil and trees removed from a portion of the lot next door while they were in the midst of brushing out their own lot.

After the Star's repeated requests for an interview last December, the minister said a few dead trees were accidentally removed.

He acknowledged that in hindsight, a permit should have been drawn, but he emphasized the extent of the disturbance was minimal, and was essentially a mini-FireSmart program.

He said the area as a whole is better for it.

This was not a capital crime, the minister insisted.

Chouinard said aerial photographs taaken in 2001, more than a year before the Langs bought the property, show mature white spruce on a corner of the Crown lot where no trees exist today.

There is no evidence to show what was there or not there when the Langs purchased the adjacent property, he said.

It's difficult to estimate exactly the number of spruce at the corner of the Crown lot at the time of the aerial photograph, though Chouinard put it at something fewer than 30.

Last December's investigation was kick started by a complaint to the lands branch of grubbing debris being dumped onto the edge of a beaver pond in the McRae industrial area.

An order was issued to remove the material from the edge of the beaver pond. While investigating where the material originated, it was determined some of the matter had come off Crown land.

Officials with the city and the lands branch explained last December they agreed it would be best to let Lang's department handle the investigation.

Typically, where trees are removed from vacant Crown land without a permit, it's a matter for the city to investigate.

City and territorial officials said the Crown land in question is actually surveyed and titled to the government. It was felt there may be legal jurisdictional issues if the city headed the investigation.

Officials from the lands branch have indicated the Langs have been fully co-operative from the time the matter was brought to their attention.