Forest Service Has Eye On Christmas Tree Thieves Agency Says Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Trees Are Purloined Each Year

It is the holiday season, and Tom Ramsey is out prowling the South Hills on the Sawtooth National Forest.

A law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service, Ramsey traipses through Basin Patch, Bear Flats and other areas looking for Christmas tree thieves.

Last year’s stump hunt followed the seizure of 138 pines at the home of 46-year-old Daniel W. Lewis outside Rupert.

“Yeah, that’s a lot of trees,” Ramsey said. “But I can tell you that it happens more frequently than people understand.”

Last week, Lewis pleaded guilty in federal court to misdemeanor theft. He could receive up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, said Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitsameter, who prosecuted the case.

The Forest Service estimates about $8,000 worth of federal property and resources were stolen or damaged last year on the Sawtooth. Many “resource thefts” occur because the forest is too big to patrol.

In the Inland Northwest, forest officials say such theft is rare, but also hard to detect.

“We’ve had some problem in the past where trees in reforested areas were stolen en masse,” said Tom King, chief law enforcement officer for Region One of the Forest Service. His office oversees law enforcement on 2.3 million acres of national forests in states including Idaho and Montana.

When it does happen, it’s tough to catch the thieves. “It’s a rural setting, generally with no witnesses,” King said.

And when trees are stolen in large quantities, they are immediately trucked to southern states where they fetch the highest price, King said.

On the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Christmas tree theft is “pretty minimal,” agreed Forest Supervisor Dave Wright.

In the Sawtooth forests theft, Lewis’ prosecution came after Ramsey and his crew combed the area, eventually matching 54 of Lewis’ conifers to the trunks left behind.

“Once the comparison begins, it’s just a matter of using your eyes,” Ramsey said. “No two trees are alike, just like no two fingerprints are exactly alike.”

Ramsey said he was helped by a tip from someone who thought Lewis’ behavior seemed odd.

“We were tickled to death that we had an informant that was public-minded enough and honest enough to report it,” he said.

There always will be an entrepreneurial person looking to make a buck, so there always will be Christmas tree thieves.

Once again, Ramsey is on the prowl - because ‘tis the season.

, DataTimes