What's With the Ribbon on This Tree?

I'm going to make an attempt at some crowdsourcing.

Last week, my friendly neighbor Dave noticed that there was a red-and-white ribbon tied to a large tree just beyond the border of our backyards.

It concerned us slightly, because our yards back up to a stretch of woods. And we like those woods.

When someone comes around and starts marking trees just beyond our property line, we get nervous.

There is some black writing on the ribbon indicating the width of the tree and the species (poplar).

It's our understanding that at least a portion of the wooded area belongs to our homeowners' association. And they never told us they were doing any type of tree inventory. But if you keep going back, you'll eventually reach the area near the former Nevamar facility, on the east side of Telegraph Road. There's also a BGE substation there.

Has anyone ever seen a red-and-white ribbon tied to a tree before? What does it mean when someone comes around and marks a tree like this?

Thanks for your help!