Cobra
02-18-2008, 05:30 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080218/ap_on_re_us/farm_scene_stealing_trees;_ylt=AgAgIbopDhfgZ9CSQa. z9UlvzwcF
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Mitchum Whitaker's heart sank when he saw what loggers had done to his property — bulldozer tracks, freshly sawn stumps and broken tree tops cluttering the ground.
On the timber market, the 12 trees taken from his Letcher County property were worth an estimated $5,000. To Whitaker, they were priceless, especially one that he had often sat beneath whiling away the hours with his grandfather, father and later his son.
"We had our initials carved into that tree," Whitaker said. "When I went up there and saw that tree cut down, it was like sticking a knife in you."
Tree thieves have been blamed for stealing timber across the country, often taking advantage of elderly and absentee landowners. When confronted, some may claim they didn't realize they had crossed property lines.
In many cases, they've had little to fear from prosecutors who may consider the matter a property dispute.
That could be changing in Kentucky. Lawmakers are considering two bills in the General Assembly that would make sawing down someone else's trees a felony, punishable by one to five years in prison.
State Rep. Leslie Combs is sponsoring legislation that also would require land owners, under penalty of prosecution, to mail written notification to adjacent property owners if loggers are going to be cutting trees on their land.
The legislation would require that logs be marked or branded to show which company cut them, in case a dispute arises. And rangers from the state Division of Forestry would be given additional responsibility to investigate complaints.
"It's a pretty tough bill," Combs said. "People see it and they immediately cringe."
Robert Bauer, executive director of the Kentucky Forest Industries Association, said he is concerned that the measure would place undue requirements on both landowners and loggers.
"If there's something that can be done to increase the penalties on actual timber theft, I think, from the industry standpoint, there would be support for that," Bauer said.
Some states, including Mississippi and Virginia, have already moved to curb illegal logging. Specific timber theft laws there make illegal logging on private property a felony. Timber theft prevention campaigns elsewhere warn property owners of the common claims thieves make when caught red-handed.
In Kentucky, the nonprofit group Appalachian Roundtable has joined forestry experts, attorneys, law enforcement and victims to help prevent illegal logging and pursue prosecution of timber thieves. The group is pushing for separate legislation that would make timber theft a felony.
State Sen. Julian Carroll, a former governor, has said he plans to sponsor that legislation, which isn't as broad as Combs' bill.
Kentucky has no specific timber theft charge on the books, though regular theft charges can be pursued. Bauer, of the forest industries association, said the state also has a timber trespass law that requires loggers who cross a boundary to cut trees to pay three times the value of the trees.
A 2003 Virginia Tech University study estimated that landowners lose more than $4 million to timber thieves each year in Appalachian states.
Among the Kentucky victims was Verna Potter, 77. Timber thieves invaded her property in Letcher County, taking some $50,000 worth of trees. Not satisfied with a civil case to seek restitution, the eastern Kentucky grandmother has pushed for criminal charges.
"If I wanted money, I could have sold them myself," she said. "They're trees that we didn't want cut. That's something you can't put back."
Combs, the lawmaker, said she believes the requirements in the legislation she is sponsoring could put an end to the problem — and none too soon.
"It's cropping up every time we turn around," she said. "I'm not interested in hurting industry, but at the same time, I don't want the people hurt."
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Mitchum Whitaker's heart sank when he saw what loggers had done to his property — bulldozer tracks, freshly sawn stumps and broken tree tops cluttering the ground.
On the timber market, the 12 trees taken from his Letcher County property were worth an estimated $5,000. To Whitaker, they were priceless, especially one that he had often sat beneath whiling away the hours with his grandfather, father and later his son.
"We had our initials carved into that tree," Whitaker said. "When I went up there and saw that tree cut down, it was like sticking a knife in you."
Tree thieves have been blamed for stealing timber across the country, often taking advantage of elderly and absentee landowners. When confronted, some may claim they didn't realize they had crossed property lines.
In many cases, they've had little to fear from prosecutors who may consider the matter a property dispute.
That could be changing in Kentucky. Lawmakers are considering two bills in the General Assembly that would make sawing down someone else's trees a felony, punishable by one to five years in prison.
State Rep. Leslie Combs is sponsoring legislation that also would require land owners, under penalty of prosecution, to mail written notification to adjacent property owners if loggers are going to be cutting trees on their land.
The legislation would require that logs be marked or branded to show which company cut them, in case a dispute arises. And rangers from the state Division of Forestry would be given additional responsibility to investigate complaints.
"It's a pretty tough bill," Combs said. "People see it and they immediately cringe."
Robert Bauer, executive director of the Kentucky Forest Industries Association, said he is concerned that the measure would place undue requirements on both landowners and loggers.
"If there's something that can be done to increase the penalties on actual timber theft, I think, from the industry standpoint, there would be support for that," Bauer said.
Some states, including Mississippi and Virginia, have already moved to curb illegal logging. Specific timber theft laws there make illegal logging on private property a felony. Timber theft prevention campaigns elsewhere warn property owners of the common claims thieves make when caught red-handed.
In Kentucky, the nonprofit group Appalachian Roundtable has joined forestry experts, attorneys, law enforcement and victims to help prevent illegal logging and pursue prosecution of timber thieves. The group is pushing for separate legislation that would make timber theft a felony.
State Sen. Julian Carroll, a former governor, has said he plans to sponsor that legislation, which isn't as broad as Combs' bill.
Kentucky has no specific timber theft charge on the books, though regular theft charges can be pursued. Bauer, of the forest industries association, said the state also has a timber trespass law that requires loggers who cross a boundary to cut trees to pay three times the value of the trees.
A 2003 Virginia Tech University study estimated that landowners lose more than $4 million to timber thieves each year in Appalachian states.
Among the Kentucky victims was Verna Potter, 77. Timber thieves invaded her property in Letcher County, taking some $50,000 worth of trees. Not satisfied with a civil case to seek restitution, the eastern Kentucky grandmother has pushed for criminal charges.
"If I wanted money, I could have sold them myself," she said. "They're trees that we didn't want cut. That's something you can't put back."
Combs, the lawmaker, said she believes the requirements in the legislation she is sponsoring could put an end to the problem — and none too soon.
"It's cropping up every time we turn around," she said. "I'm not interested in hurting industry, but at the same time, I don't want the people hurt."