To me, one of the tragedies of cutting down old trees is that they are gone forever. Mankind will never again let a tree grow for 100 years, let alone 700 or 1000 years. And when you compare trees to people, trees do relatively little harm in this world. Below, just the latest thoughtless crime, an evil that can never be undone:
“The crime seems so audacious: chopping down 27 old growth cedars on public land. The trees measured up to five feet in diameter. They were between 400-700 years old.
“Camano Islander Kevin John Moran pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property for the felling of the trees from national forest land near Lake Wenatchee, according to a press release issued this week. The trees were cut and hauled away in the spring and summer of 2004 from what’s described by Anne Minden, a U.S. Forest Service criminal investigator, as ‘an isolated piece of national forest near the north end of Lake Wenatchee.’
“In an interview Thursday Minden said the trees were a significant loss. ‘It’s very unusual for the east side of the mountains to have this large of a cedar tree… You’re talking about something that is essentially irreplaceable.’
“A guilty plea was entered in Spokane District Court and sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2008. What does Moran face for killing trees that would take hundreds of years to replace, if they were to return at all?
“Theft of government property is a Class C felony, which means a maximum sentence of 10 years or less, and a fine not to exceed $250,000. In some cases Minden said they go after ecological damages as well, but that they weren’t in this situation. She said the reason why was complicated.
“The logging was reported by a concerned citizen a year after the theft occurred. Moran was identified because he had a vehicle on the property and also owned nearby land.
“The old growth trees went to mills in Western Washington. Investigators put their market value at $37,688.
“While old growth cedars are rare in Eastern Washington, Minden said she gets weekly reports of cedar thefts on the west side. Olympic, Mount Baker and Gifford Pinchot national parks are all favorite targets. In many cases — though apparently not Moran’s — the thieves are often associated with meth addicts, she said.”
— Posted by Lisa Stiffler at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website.