Thieves hacking down majestic trees to support drug habit
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SHELTON, Wash. - Thieves in Mason County are hacking down majestic old maple trees and stealing wood from the heart of the trees - and much of the stolen wood is winding up in the hands of unsuspecting music lovers.
The tree poaching has become so rampant that the Sheriff's Office now has a designated deputy who patrols the forest trying to prevent thieves from cutting down trees that have been growing for many decades.
Just like a fine wine, the aged wood from the center of a decades-old maple can be used in the handmaking of a violin.
Ben Barnes, an Olympia violin maker, imports his wood from a reputable dealer in Europe. But often buyers of violins and guitars have no idea they're purchasing stolen merchandise. And the crime scene is deep in the forest.
"Maple is often used for musical instruments - people often call it musicwood," says Mason County sheriff's deputy Jason Sisson.
Sisson says thieves recently hacked down about two dozen majestic trees near Shelton to make a quick buck.
He showed KOMO News the hacked-up remains of the trees.
"This is a perfect example of a section of wood where blocks have been harvested out of it," he says.
What poachers are looking for is old wood with a wavy grain and desirable characteristics from the heart of a maple tree.
"They're only going to cut the best portion of these logs," says Sisson. "They want the best. The rest goes to waste because they can't sell it and that's all they're in for."
Thieves can illegally sell one poached maple for thousands of dollars.
"Oftentimes it's used to support drug habits," says Sisson.
He says he has seen the crime of wood poaching skyrocket - paralleling the rise of rural drug use.
"It's overall become a bigger money-maker for the bad guys and more dangerous for us," Sisson says.
The thieves want the fast cash for a quick hit - but it will take years for local forests to heal.
Sisson says in many cases, tree poaching is considered a felony - and a conviction can lead to jail time.
The tree poaching has become so rampant that the Sheriff's Office now has a designated deputy who patrols the forest trying to prevent thieves from cutting down trees that have been growing for many decades.
Just like a fine wine, the aged wood from the center of a decades-old maple can be used in the handmaking of a violin.
Ben Barnes, an Olympia violin maker, imports his wood from a reputable dealer in Europe. But often buyers of violins and guitars have no idea they're purchasing stolen merchandise. And the crime scene is deep in the forest.
"Maple is often used for musical instruments - people often call it musicwood," says Mason County sheriff's deputy Jason Sisson.
Sisson says thieves recently hacked down about two dozen majestic trees near Shelton to make a quick buck.
He showed KOMO News the hacked-up remains of the trees.
"This is a perfect example of a section of wood where blocks have been harvested out of it," he says.
What poachers are looking for is old wood with a wavy grain and desirable characteristics from the heart of a maple tree.
"They're only going to cut the best portion of these logs," says Sisson. "They want the best. The rest goes to waste because they can't sell it and that's all they're in for."
Thieves can illegally sell one poached maple for thousands of dollars.
"Oftentimes it's used to support drug habits," says Sisson.
He says he has seen the crime of wood poaching skyrocket - paralleling the rise of rural drug use.
"It's overall become a bigger money-maker for the bad guys and more dangerous for us," Sisson says.
The thieves want the fast cash for a quick hit - but it will take years for local forests to heal.
Sisson says in many cases, tree poaching is considered a felony - and a conviction can lead to jail time.
Oh come on! Â The US forest circus has been hacking down hundreds of acres of "majestic old trees" for years and years just to turn a buck. Â Yeah.....so, the public just can't be allowed to cut down a tree....they are all just meth addicts out to destroy our pacific paradise. Â But no need to stress over this....I am sure the USFS will have their allotment of predator drones to patrol "the public timberlands" and apply justice on the spot via the NDAA. Â How about allowing more opportunities for low income folks to cut their own firewood. Â
Interesting that the "recently" cut tree in the photo has moss growing in the cut line of the bark. This story and all it's content are crap
@flor3nc3 ---Deputy Donut/the Donut Bandit could not walk far enough into the woods to find a freshly pouched maple, assuming there were any to be found on picture day.
What a joke drugs are the cause?
Good grief - it's Deputy Doughnut on the job!
This article reeks of hyperbole.
Gee KVAL, lets tell the meth heads ALL the ways to make drug money.
Well, what was it said about Gibson Guitars, that Gibson was imorting illegal wood, that turned out to be legal, but the Feds did not like it, so they took it anyway, the Fiddleback this cops talks about occurs 1 board foot out of every 10,000 board feet, and you cannot tell, by the outside of the tree if you have fiddleback, If the cop professed to be an expert in doughnuts I might listen to him, but he is talking nonsense. The commercial outfits have specialized trucks, they work in conjunction with many timber outfits, and they can select from thousands of legally harvested trees, where they might actually move enough board feet to find fiddleback, based on the looks of those trees, they have been down more than a year, so they are not hot on the trail, and there were only twelve, not worth the gas to drive this donut bandit around the woods.  We build violins, the back piece is glued together, we have even designed our own sound chambers and slightly altered internal chamber dimensions to give a crisper sound through the F hole, the wood needs to be well seasoned, the wood I use has been seasoned 12 years and air dried, kilns collaspe the wood cells, so I doubt that our wood theives, possess the knowledge base or patience to steal wood to build violins, but it has been my experience that dopers are blamed for many stupid things that cops do, and there are many ways to make plain stock look like Fiddleback, that has been around for more than 200 years, and I can say with certainty, that stove wood length wood can be used to make violins, provided it is properly aged. Now, it occurs to me that few people would have the resources to buy thousands of dollars of wood in direct proportion to our increased drug use rate, and I would not need a cop to drive around the woods looking futilely for some obscure doper wood thief, when I could easily identify the market where this contraband would be exploited, so my conclusion is the cop lied, they do not want you in your woods and need an excuse to harrass the honest citizens that enjoy our forests, so BS, I can buy good fiddleback for $2.50 a board foot and it takes less than 2 board feet to make the back, one board foot to make the front, (we split it), and maybe 3 board feet of plain wood to make all the rest of the pieces, so $15.00 worth of expensive wood if you were so inclined for the entire project, and Oregon is not the Fiddle capital of the world, So, I cry BS. Â
@Fancy Jack ---"donut bandit". Thanks for the laughs! You are funnier than Mike Royko who got a Pullitzer for commentary in 1972. You oughta' consider getting syndicated as a professional in case you are not busy ghostwriting already for some big brand namer who lacks your talent.
@peace Actually, Mike and I traded barbs years ago and for the life of me I do not recall what we were fussing about, I have some very traditional views that are out of main stream and may have cast aspersions on half of the adult population, which got me banned from writing to the local paper for about two years. I have grown comfortable annoying my wife and mother in law, so, I leave the rest of the world alone these days, although this internet thing has potential, and I keep getting notes that I am considered antagonistic when I correct history, it is a problem that comes with age.
 @Fancy Jack nice post, not because I agree. I am a wood pack rat. Have some 130 year old BLM that was under power lines regularly being trimmed. It was over 5' @ dbh and I found out last week has a lot of instrument grade curly and figured boards.  While it was on my truck an old woman recognized the bottom portion of tree and said,"Bet there are a lot of nails in it" she was right went through 3 saw blades milling it.
@drinkmorewater So, this would make you a prime suspect? 130 year old wood in the power companies right of way, would suggest difficulty in acquiring permission to harvest and the presence of nails suggest a fence line as folks do not randomly run through the woods driving nails into trees. So you have the means to harvest and to mill and the proclivity of a Wood Rat, do you have an alibi? Three saw blades would not be cheap and the profit margin would be modest, but I only have one question really, is your quest to collect and mill wood driven by an addiction to illicit drugs?
@drinkmorewater Will give her an ear
 @Fancy Jack  @drinkmorewater Maciej Strzelczyk is a Polish violinist worth a listen. Did find out recently that any blow to the head is considered a concussion whether there is memory loss or not.Â
@drinkmorewater You must be being sarcastic, we do not give a second liver to substance abusers as a matter of priciple and your tooth comment is a less than subtle meth reference. The slopes comment speaks volumes, concussions explain everything, She has done well to live 130 years.
 @Fancy Jack  @drinkmorewater yes I am on my 4th liver transplant and I own a "toothbrush" for my one tooth.  Woman grew up with this tree when road was dirt.  It was a message tree that folks used.  The tree was kept low for years creating some real nice wood. Was lucky to get it. Milled it in 21/8 and 11/8 thick boards.  270 year old Black Oak tree fell my way. I will have projects when I can't hit the slopes no more.
@Fancy Jack They were probably getting firewood, and "wood" not even have done that if the feds and state "wood" let people cut the downed stuff and clean up the potential fire disaster areas.
Apparently Deputy Sisson forgot to tell Ms. Manning-Smith how he knows that the wood is being harvested and sold to support drug habits. After all if incidents of rural drug use and wood poaching are both increasing there must be a connection. So that must mean if prices at Voodoo Doughnuts are going down and the average weight of a Portland sheriff's deputy is going up there must be a connection.
 @mackenzie0158 somehow fine violin wood and meth heads do not seem to go together.
remember! Â You WILL get jail tiime.... all 5 minutes of it. Â
Hands off those resources you peasants... Those trees belong to the king!
 @Paul Kersey. go cut an old growth tree on federal land and see what happens, no jail time, prison time!
@Navyveteran @Paul Kersey. ---that will work out well for me because the jails are too cold in the winter, and I need to cut and season some wood for my woodstove for next winter.