AKRON, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is warning residents about an increase in timber poaching cases throughout the state.
Current high prices for white oak and black walnut timber are motivating crooks to steal trees from public and private property, state officials believe.
John Kehn, a district manager with ODNR, said there have been dozens of cases of valuable trees cut down over the past two years, many of them in secluded areas of southern Ohio.
"Generally, if they're going to take a chance on stealing stuff, they're looking at high-quality stuff," Kehn said.
Kehn said some northern white oak trees can be worth up to $4,000 and the best black walnut trees can be valued over $10,000.
The poachers often remove the most valuable lower log section of the tree and leave the upper sections and limbs. Thieves are using equipment like small trailers and winches, or logging equipment like loaders and large trucks.
Last month, poachers cut down a large black walnut tree on a 300-acre property in Jackson County owned by attorney Tommy Taneff.
"It was a clean cut with a saw. It was cut up in about two or three parts. Clearly, someone had intended to haul it away," Taneff said.
However, Taneff suspects the trespassers were spooked off the property before they were able to take off with the timber.
"To have someone trespass onto your property without permission and to cut and kill a beautiful tree for absolutely no reason but for their own selfish potential profit, it's just outrageous," he said.
ODNR says that if tree theft activity is suspected, report suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately. It’s also a good idea to inspect your property regularly, mark all boundaries with paint or signs to deter potential thieves, and conduct a timber inventory and estimate the value of your timber.
