Senate Approves Craig’s Bill Toughening Tree-Spiking Law

The U.S. Senate approved 40-year maximum prison terms for people convicted of spiking trees in national forests on Wednesday.

The bill, introduced by U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was attached to the Interior Appropriations Act.

“Congress has sent a clear message to domestic terrorists who are willing to risk killing a person in order to save a tree,” Craig said. No one has ever been killed as a result of a spiking, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

When he introduced the bill in July, Craig claimed to know several people maimed and killed by spikes. Thursday, his office still could not produce a list of names.

“We want to make sure we research this pretty completely,” a Craig spokesman said. “Apparently there isn’t any one official list anywhere.”

The U.S. Forest Service, meanwhile, has records of about two dozen spiking incidents throughout the country and one injury.

Tree spiking is hammering metal or ceramic spikes into tree trunks. They can destroy chain saws or mill saws, possibly injuring loggers and mill workers.

A group calling itself “Elves for Habitat” circulated a letter claiming undetectable ceramic spikes had been embedded in trees within the Cove-Mallard sale areas on the Nez Perce National Forest.

Cove-Mallard Coalition leaders have denied any responsibility for tree spiking, or anything beyond protests. No spikes have been discovered and no arrests made.

The legislation will strengthen an existing law introduced in 1988 by former Idaho Sen. James McClure. It would require the courts to consider the costs incurred by companies while searching for spikes, training employees in detection methods and adding safeguards to saws.

It also would double the maximum prison time upon conviction from 20 to 40 years, and allows personal lawsuits against the spikers.

Craig contends the current law has not been as effective as he had hoped because of the $10,000 threshold for the damages incurred.

Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, introduced similar legislation in the House.

, DataTimes