Forest authorities are now using DNA testing to crack “illegal logging”, with the US deploying a special Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations team to prosecute “timber poaching” in federal courts.
It comes as the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, responsible for directly managing 80 million hectares (or 193 million acres) of sustainably managed forests, doubles down on “timber theft” as part of a push to stamp out illegal logging in North American supply chains.
Wood Central understands that the case involved the poaching of black walnut trees, used to make high-value furniture and cabinetry, in the Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri.
Black walnut, a high-quality dark hardwood, is considered a “premium domestic hardwood” and commands high prices, according to The Wood Database, making it attractive to lumber poachers.
First spotted in 2019, a Forest Service special agent found the culprit while investigating a local lumber mill and finding a log with identical dimensions to a freshly cut stump in the forest. But to be sure, the special agent contacted Richard Cronn, a USDA Forest Service research geneticist, to match the log to the stump using DNA:
“Coincidentally, our lab was developing a DNA test to identify individual black walnut trees at the Forest Service’s Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center,” Mr Cronn said. “There’s an enormous interest in selectively breeding black walnuts to improve growth characteristics of the tree. Because of this project, we were able to meet this request quickly.”
Global ENGOs, including the ITTO and CITIES, are already protecting endangered tree species in global forests. Scientists use DNA to “chemically fingerprint” 60,000 different tree species to crack down on illegal timber entering US supply chains.
The Forest Service, which has also been involved in a project to stomp out the illegal harvest of Big Leaf Maple Trees for guitars, is now pushing to solve tree crimes on home soil.
“Timber theft is a top priority for Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations on the Mark Twain National Forest,” according to Casey Hutsell, patrol caption at the Mark Twain National Forest, who added, “DNA evidence gives us another powerful tool in our arsenal to combat the theft of natural resources from public lands.”
Wood Central understands the culprit responsible for the “timber poaching” was tracked down and eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of depredation of government property. According to a statement from the Forest Service, the culprit was then sentenced to five months served, three years of supervised parole, and restitution for the timber’s value and damage to the forest.
- To learn more about how DNA tracking is being used to protect endangered tree species and crack down on deforestation, visit Wood Central’s special feature. To find out how global scientists are now using DNA to track Russian conflict timber across Europe click here.
