The Senate Environmental Resources Committee held a public hearing on timber theft on August 25 in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Senator Mary Jo White and Senator Raphael Musto, the majority and minority chairman of the committee chaired the hearing.

The committee heard testimony from several victims of timber theft, the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, and the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Timber theft is becoming more common as timber becomes more valuable.

Timber owners reported that theft occurs when trees are removed from their property without their consent and also by deception when the timber owner does not receive full payment for all the trees removed from the property. In both cases, enforcement is difficult. The legal costs of prosecuting timber theft can exceed the value of the timber.

With appeals, timber theft cases can go on for years and in the meantime the victim of timber theft often has to pay for land surveys and professional evaluation of the lost timber. In addition, the state police and district attorneys are busy and view timber theft as a low priority.

It was suggested at the hearing that while the current provisions in the law apply to civil actions, they ought to be extended to cover criminal actions. Another suggestion was that there be an established paper trail showing where the logs are coming from and the final destination at the sawmill. Since a lot of timber theft occurs near property lines, it was recommended that adjacent property owners be notified when a timber harvest operation is about to begin.

Landowner education is also important. Landowners should do what they can to prevent timber theft such as clearly marking their property lines, having a written contract in place for a timber harvest, and being knowledgeable about the economic value of their timber.

9/3/2004