Timber Theft – WV Code
“In West Virginia, in 1997, a logging company had to repay more than $200,000 for stealing trees.”- https://www.ecooutpost.org/detailed-guide-for-timber-theft-victims.html
The following are WV timber theft laws; important as the issue is being discussed, this year.
- 61-3-48. Offenses involving damage to shrubbery, flowers, trees and timber; limitation of section; penalties.
- It is unlawful to break, cut, take or carry away, or in any manner to damage any of the shrubbery or flowers, including everything under the title of flora, whether wild or cultivated, growing within one hundred yards on either side of any public road in this state, without the permission in writing of the owner or tenant of the land upon which the shrubbery or flowers, including everything under the title of flora, are growing.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to enter upon the lands or premises of another without written permission of the owner of the lands or premises, in order to break, cut, take or carry away or in any manner to damage or cause to be broken, cut, taken or carried away or in any manner damaged, any trees or timber on the land.
(c) It is unlawful for any person willfully or knowingly to have in his possession, or to haul along any public road in this state, any trees, shrubbery or flowers, including everything under the title of flora, which are protected by this section, unless the person so having in his possession or hauling the trees, shrubbery or flowers, and any other plant, has permission in writing so to do from the owner or tenant of the land from which they have been taken.
(d) At the request of a law-enforcement officer, a person engaged in any act which would constitute an offense under the provisions of subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section if such act were done without the required permission specified therein, shall display the written permission to such officer.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or section forty-eight-a of this article:
(1) An employee of the department of highways or of a county or municipality performing roadside maintenance shall obtain the permission of an owner before engaging in any act specified in subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section but is not required to obtain the permission in writing or to display the written permission as provided in subsection (d) of this section; and
(2) When any of the acts specified in subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section are permitted pursuant to an existing contract with the owner or a predecessor in title to the subject real estate, or by virtue of a judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, or by other operation of civil law, then a public utility as defined in section two, article one, chapter twenty-four of this code, or any other person or entity holding such existing rights, shall not be required to obtain any further permission of the present owner to exercise such existing rights: Provided, That the holder of such existing rights shall notify the owner of the land of the holder’s intent to perform proposed work upon such lands, by first class United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person and address of record upon the current land books in the assessor’s office in the county in which the land is situate: Provided, however, That if the proposed work includes several tracts within a larger area, then notice shall be sufficient if provided by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the county, describing the boundaries and type of work proposed within such area of work. Where prior notice is not practical by reason of a sudden emergency which endangers persons or property of either the owner of the real property, the holder of such rights, the general public or public service, then the owner of the real property shall be notified that such emergency work has been performed, such notice to be by first class United States mail, as above provided for prior notice to the current owner as indicated in the land book records. Where the emergency work was performed on several tracts within a larger area, then the notice shall be sufficient if made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the county.
(f) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, for the first offense shall be fined not more than $50, and for subsequent offenses shall be confined in the county jail for not more than three months, or fined not more than $50, or both, for each offense.
(g) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, for the first offense shall be fined not less than $50, and for subsequent offenses shall be confined in the county jail for not less than three months, or fined not less than $50, or both, for each offense.
(h) Magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction with circuit courts for offenses under this section.
- 61-3-48a. Cutting, damaging or carrying away without written permission, timber, trees, growing plants or the products thereof; treble damages provided.
Any person who enters upon the land or premises of another without written permission from the owner of the land or premises in order to cut, damage or carry away or cause to be cut, damaged or carried away, any timber, trees, logs, posts, fruit, nuts, growing plant or product of any growing plant, shall be liable to the owner in the amount of three times the value of the timber, trees, growing plants or products thereof, which shall be in addition to and notwithstanding any other penalties by law provided.
- 61-3-52. Wrongful injuries to timber; criminal penalties.
(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with intent to do harm unlawfully enters upon the lands of another, cuts down, injures, removes or destroys any timber, without the permission of the owner or his or her representative is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than three times the value of timber injured, removed or destroyed, or confined in the county or regional jail for thirty days, or both: Provided, That if the timber is valued at $1,000 or less, the fine shall be no more than $1,000: Provided, however, That a person convicted of a first offense violation of the provisions of this section in which the timber is valued at more than $1,000 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not less than one nor more than two years, or fined not more than three times the value of the timber injured, removed or destroyed, or both fined and confined: Provided further, That a person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not less than one nor more than three years, or fined not more than three times the value of the timber injured, removed or destroyed, or both fined and confined.
(b) The necessary trimming and removal of timber to permit the construction, repair, maintenance, cleanup and operations of pipelines and utility lines and appurtenances of public utilities, public service corporations and to aid registered land surveyors and professional engineers in the performance of their professional services, and municipalities, and pipeline companies, or lawful operators and product purchasers of natural resources other than timber shall not be considered a willful and intentional cutting down, injuring, removing or destroying of timber.
(c) The necessary trimming and removal of timber for boundary line maintenance, for the construction, maintenance and repair of streets, roads and highways or for the control and regulation of traffic thereon by the state and its political subdivisions or registered land surveyors and professional engineers shall not be considered a willful and intentional cutting down, injuring, removing or destroying of timber.
(d) No fine or imprisonment imposed pursuant to this section shall be construed to limit any cause of action by a landowner for recovery of damages otherwise allowed by law. If a person charged or convicted under the provisions of this section enters into an agreement with a landowner to make financial restitution for the landowner’s timber damages, any applicable statute of limitations effecting the landowner’s cause of action shall be tolled from the date the agreement was entered into until a breach of the agreement occurs.
(e) If a criminal action is brought under the provisions of this section, the county prosecutor shall publish a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code in the county where the property involved is located which provides a description of the property and a general summary of the timber damages. If a landowner suffering timber damages is not aware of those damages prior to the publication of the Class II legal advertisement, any applicable statute of limitations effecting the landowner’s cause of action for the recovery of damages shall be tolled from the time the damages were incurred, and may not commence until the date the final Class II legal advertisement is published.
Further Reading:
“ Timber Trespass in West Virginia” by Charles M. Surber, Jr., Jackson Kelly PLLC, Charleston, West Virginia:
http://www.emlf.org/clientuploads/directory/whitepaper/Addendum_07.pdf
“An Analysis of Timber Trespass and Theft Issues in the Southern Appalachian Region” By Shawn Baker:
https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/33058/timb_theft_thesis.pdf?sequence=1
