Three timber cutters and one wood buyer and mill operator have been indicted on theft and environmental crimes under the Lacey Act for cutting big leaf maple trees in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 2011 and 2012, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Assisted by the mill owner, the men would seek out figured maple, which is valuable as a wood for musical instruments. They made 50 sales of the material to the mill owner, who then sold the wood to out-of-state companies for more than $800,000.
“The trees in our national forests belong to all Americans and should not be chopped up to enrich a few,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes in a statement. “In this case a beautiful and valued resource that is home to endangered species was felled with some parts just discarded on the forest floor. We are prosecuting not only the tree cutters, but also the mill owner who created a market for the sale of this stolen property.”
The DOJ’s full statement can be read online.
