People Stealing the World's Largest Trees (FARM CRIME)

[@karigonzalez6708]

As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, Arcata CA, it warms my heart that you chose this as a talking point! The struggle is real. Our local celebrity, Griff Griffith, collaborates with Redwoods Rising and are doing amazing things. I recommend anyone to look into both. ❤

[@DesertBloomBettas]

I grew up in the pacific north west, in southern Oregon just above the redwoods, and though we didn't deal with tree poachers personally, I do remember several times when logging companies would approach us to ask if they could buy off the trees on our three acres. we had a cabin in an old growth forest full of fir's and cedar that stood dozens of feet tall and took two people to circle with their arms. we held out and didn't sell, but other properties around us did. the following summer we had a massive storm blow through, and because the trees had been thinned so much, the wind just demolished what was left. so many cabins were just smashed to bits by the tree fall. it was devastating. we were lucky, and because of our surrounding forest, took minimal damage. trees are important in more ways than people realize.

[@cjdflkj]

I’m not an environmentalist or against timber harvesting, but illegally harvesting old growth redwoods is flat out wrong and sucky. My dad was a hick druggy who was a wood worker but even he had a spotted owl poster in his shack and redwood posters. Both worlds can exist and need to, theft doesn’t. Interesting vid, thx!

[@rennscott5808]

Honestly logging is a great way to maintain helathu forests, the real problem is extracting the wood. Thats why periodoc vlearcutting turns out being more economical

[@RuthAnnnMorris]

I remember all this! My husband’s grandfather owned a logging company and a lot of my family and friends worked for the US Forest Service and Law Enforcement. I remember the spotted owl issue. The Ponderosa Pine tree were native to where I grew up too and the logging of Ponderosa Pines had to be stopped because the trees didn’t grow in other places. Great video Morgan! Timber poaching is a crime and you did a fantastic job in explaining it….Blessings….

[@bkm2797]

Ponderosa Pines are absolutely beautiful, they are huge and need to be preserved.

[@cassdaschofsky2214]

I'm 39, and I've lived in the PNW my whole life. I grew up in a small logging town in the 90's. I remember the Spotted Owl situation. T-shirts, hats, bumperstickers, the works, all touting against the Spotted Owl. My family was not in the logging industry, but most everyone we knew there was. Kids would go straight from graduation to working at the mill, generation after generation. Logging trucks were the second most popular vehicles, behind pickup trucks. I remember when the big mill in the larger town next to us closed down. I saw the impact it had on our community, when all those jobs disappeared. I was only about 12, so it didn't mean much to me at the time, but I do remember it.

[@cjdflkj]

Fun fact, the Park Service encourages people all over the country to purchase Redwood trees and raise em at their homes. I live in MD, I used to have a redwood when stationed in Cali, we had to leave it as taking plants across the country isn’t good. I called the Park Service and they encouraged me to buy more and gave me the name of their favorite seller. The environmental ranger will explain why they want this if you call.

[@scorpion-lg4ic]

i live in Maryland too. when I was young, we took a family vacation driving cross country... destination Cali. one of the sites we stopped at was the Redwood Forest. trees were like giants reaching up to the sky in my very young eyes. Lol. i had no idea we could grow them here in MD tho.

[@nikkireigns]

I’d love to do this! I wonder if they’d survive zone 3 winters

[@Lazy_Fish_Keeper]

We need to be very careful with this approach, despite the National Forestry Service encouraging the purchase and planting of Redwoods across the US. Colonizing an area of the country where redwoods are not indigenous is as bad for that environment as cutting down old growth trees in their native habitat. Redwoods, more than almost any other timber, depend on community interaction **below** the leaf litter to be healthy, and saplings depend on grandmother trees for early growth (as well as learning how to survive fires). Ponderosas are similar. Suzanne Simard's "Finding the Mother Tree" does a decent job explaining the symbiotic relationships via science.

[@thePrisoner1000]

They do but it might depend on what type, we had a friend bring us a 4 foot red wood sapling to Connecticut (New England area) and it survived well. I'm not sure what rates as a zone 3 . @@nikkireigns

[@cjdflkj]

@@Lazy_Fish_Keeperthey aren’t worried about it as the Redwoods don’t survive the temps of other climates without massive consistent assistance.

[@colesmith7754]

Love how you do all sorts of different videos from normal farm chores to true tree crime lol.

[@MikeTHEBOSS]

I hate it just want to see the animals and chores

[@zainylainy1]

I live in Washington state. My husband was in the logging industry in the 70s. I seen everything you talked about. My husband went from planting trees to actually working with the log crew in cutting timber. He ended up in the 80s driving a log truck. When the industry started to decline he took his truck driving skills and went into driving a dump truck and trailer. Best move he ever made. Here he got to be a teamster and now we are retired with a pension. The guys that stuck it out to the very end, have a pittance for a pension. Very interesting video you made. I could really relate to everything!

[@bkm2797]

Well done Morgan, I remember the Timber Wars well Iiving in the Pacific Northwest. It's hard to have faith in humanity knowing how much pillaging goes on by those who are only aware of what they feel entitled to, and in this case of taking down old tree growth and whatever they can get away with. It's like the fisheries and how we have overfished and now sea creatures are on the brink if not completely gone by our selfishness. It's a real conundrum that's for sure. Really enjoyed the story you picked to tell with empathy for both sides, now if we can teach some of these selfish humans to do the same. Thank you Morgan, and see you soon!

[@cynthiaweems5026]

Oceanic Plankton

[@13MoonsOverMayhem]

This is so sad on so many levels. I live in Oregon, I have hiked in Gifford Pinchot, and I have walked among the redwoods. These forests are our backyards and these trees are our friends. More species than the spotted owl are affected, too. There are some species that have been discovered that live their entire lives in the canopies of the redwoods, they never come down. And some of the clear cutting of the past, and other improper management of forests, before protections were put in place, have effected how wildfires spread so fast now and eliminate entire communities in the matter of days or even hours. How do we stop these crimes from happening? We support people. Humans. Provide education and training and resources. And we hold big corporations accountable for their actions that affect entire communities. And so much more. There are so many levels to these kinds of problems. But it all comes down to peoples needs not being met, or not being able to meet their own needs, because of things outside their control. And no man is an island, we all depend on community to some extent.

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

In Virginia I had to sue my neighbor for "tree injury" after he crossed the property line to take out my largest trees.

[@Winterascent]

Your neighbor, or a logger?

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

@@Winterascent Neighbor paid a company to clear.

[@RamenNoodle1985]

r/treelaw has entered the chat

[@nonesterj8152]

This is currently a big problem in Alberta, CA. We are attempting to get people away from the oil industry and move them over to something more ecologically sustainable like solar energy production. The workers are determined that they will not leave oil work but it’s going to have to happen, hopefully sooner than later. So even when offered another vocation and the training to do it, people are so resistant to change which is very frustrating. PS. I know there’s a lot more to this story, I just wanted to point out how this situation is occurring in so many industries.

[@Lonesome__Dove]

I love these farm crimes stories because as a millenial (82) you're bringing up stories from when i was young and its so reminiscent.

[@silverkiss37]

You are such an amazing storyteller. The voices, the acting, emotion, and talent! Plus I'm a poet by nature so I really appreciate your creativity! Thank you so much for sharing with us! 💜

[@LisaMarie-rh5yn]

Yes!! I was gonna post a similar comment but I'll hop onto yours. I have so much respect and admiration for Morgan's work ethic and integrity, not to mention I'm mildly in awe of his writing and storytelling abilities (does he edit too?). Watching him on this farming and homestead journey, he's just a REMARKABLY talented person. As a writer myself, he continually blows me away.

[@monacoleman24]

My dad was a logger, I was born in Eugene, Oregon. We also lived in SE Alaska a few years as my dad ran heavy equipment for a logging company. I now live in the Seattle area. I’ve seen some of the oldest trees in the world over on Washington’s peninsula. It’s an amazing thing to see, the thought of them being cut down is heart breaking! You’re a good story teller Morgan!

[@RC-vb1hz]

Greed has no boundaries

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

"The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils."

[@Mary-yu3sn]

you missed a spot in history where local people managed the timber and replanted as they went,so their children and grand children would have lumber to cut down.[this benefited the area the trees came from.].but some politicians seen the funds they could get in on and that started changing it in the very start before tree huggers started up....

[@YujiUedaFan]

This is why loggers do drugs and cut trees to spite a forest.

[@sowandtare]

I remember the spotted owl controversy in the 90s in Oregon. Boy, was that tense in certain areas!

[@briangarrow448]

I lived on the Olympic Peninsula for many years. Tree thefts have been a problem for decades. There are two major classes of theives, the people who steal a small amount of wood, but may do much more damage than the worth of the wood. Then you have the professionals who actually falsify property lines and sneak over to steal timber from neighbors property. Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of wood can be stolen this way. And yes, I lived through the Spotted Owl debacle. I watched multiple little timber towns die because the fight over timber supplies made a disaster of local economies. I could discuss these issues for hours, because I lived through these problems. My little town lost hundreds of jobs and almost every major employer. Just like the steel industry in the 70’s, the copper industry in the 80’s, the logging industry went into the toilet in the space of just a few years.

[@wendyweaver8749]

@briangarrow448 - I have lived in Western Washington for most of my 73 years. Four of those years were spent in Port Angeles and then Forks (Olympic Peninsula), from 1975-1979, working in banking. There was a fair amount of small-time timber poaching for a family's immediate needs but that was mostly replaced by pure greed poaching that had little or nothing to do with a family's survival. For Forks, the larger impact to the town was California's prohibition of cedar shake roofs as a fire hazard (soon after I left). I cannot even begin to count the number of mills whose owners lost their business from that very sudden event. The last summer I was in Forks, California had persistent rains in the summer. Because construction stops in California when it rains, several mills barely survived, and several quite small operations went under. The losses due to California's weather were damaging. But permanent loss of an extremely large cedar shake market was devastating. Also devasting to the timber industry, this time the mills, was shipping raw logs to Japan (primarily) for milling. To me, this should have been higher on the opposition radar even than the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. lost milling jobs, wood furniture jobs and related businesses because raw logs were now milled into lumber and made into furniture, etc., outside of the U.S. Port Angeles lost its largest employers when the lumber mills closed, not due to the spotted owl but to the export of raw logs. Exporting raw logs had another impact on the logging industry: logs from large-scale tree farms began to dominate because uniformly sized logs (diameter and length) were easier to ship, and tree farms produced same sized logs.

[@Nphen]

The bankers and industrialists always find a fall guy for deindustrialization. In this case, an owl. The fact is that timber companies recklessly tore through North America clearcutting everything for over a century. The party had to end some time. Michigan is mostly trash forests with tiny trees from that. Not that the gov didn't screw things up. They did. And still do, by failing to manage National Forests & Parks for a sustainable amount of timber. Our nation fails to plan and ends up failing everyone.

[@lauriekaftanic7497]

I love hearing about your farm and all the animals. I look forward to your posts. But this? THIS was fascinating! Well researched, beautifully presented. Your voice is compelling, made for narration. Well done, Morgan. Much more please.

[@brendasullivanthompsonstre8727]

Thank you for posting this video. I grew up in California and remember the horror of seeing the devastation of strip logging on the side of a mountain in Northern California. I was fifteen and that the summer I became a tree hugger. I’m sixty now and live in New England and still refer to myself as a tree hugger. Stories like this need to be told.

[@bigrigduce]

I was young but I remember the timber wars here in Oregon

[@unclemuir]

The logging companies would not have stopped cutting trees down until they were all gone. I have spent many of my summers in Oregon and Northern California and have seen the damage that was done from clear cutting. Most of the public will never see it because it was done miles off the beaten path. Good call on this subject today Morgan.

[@YujiUedaFan]

The problem is that loggers are only thinking about themselves really, since they clearly don't care for the trees or the ecosystem surrounding them. I get a lot of these people are poor, but they're letting their hate cloud their judgement to the point they're literally cutting down tress to spite the forest. Either way I look at it, the loggers are in the wrong because they refuse to look at the bigger picture, while being stuck looking at a tiny jigsaw piece.

[@babyboomersue4250]

Morgan, thank you for this. The timber industry is so often cursed and misunderstood. This has been a major industry for the PNW. As a native Oregonian, I love the beautiful Douglas firs which is a major crop. I appreciate the research you put into this episode and sharing a small part PNW.

[@Lonesome__Dove]

My grandpa has been a timber buyer for many yrs. He retired early from being a DNR officer. Ive been out many times surveying folks forests at their request, identifying, recording and counting every single mature tree on their land. We'd spend all day in the woods. I still sometimes do this w my grandpa to this day and im in my 40s and gramps is in his 80s now. So much hard work is involved and sometimes you might spend an entire surveying to not even find enough trees to justify bring in a crew.

[@JJ.LovesAnimals]

Can you imagine just how big redwood trees would get if they were left alone.. The NW is rainforest. My uncle was a lumberjack in the 30s & 40s. He also grew his own food for his family & made wine. (Canada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon & northern California) I remember the spotted owl/timber wars.. I've watched the cutting of a beautiful side of a mountain, and I assume they replant it here on the Oregon coast. Since I moved here, I've seen the timber companies strip an area, then moved on to another area & strip it. Our hillsides look like a checkerboard. I know we need wood, but it would be nice to get a plan in place where it isn't so hard on the beautiful scenery. We have some really old growth areas that are absolutely amazing. Thanks, Morgan. Logging is an interesting subject. I didn't know about stealing the redwoods or did I. Everyone needs a career legal or not. Jobs are scarce, and it's not going to get better.. 🌲🌲🌲❤️

[@ccurry1760]

Thanks Morgan! You did a very good job of presenting this issue in an interesting and even handed way. I remember when the spotted owl controversy was headline news on many evenings. 👍

[@westcoast9285]

I live in Humboldt in the avenue of the giants it is out of town interests of vacationers/environmentalists that destroy our economy making it impossible to survive even modestly: most the mills are closed and crime/poverty has shot up. For example we had nude environmentalists protest the transportation agency trimming redwood trees that aren’t even old growth in Richardson grove. They went to a random upscale city council (Albany California) 4.5 hours away to take their nude tree hugging pics to protest US deciding we needed easier access for larger trucks that can allow the area to develop in our big cities. SO IT IS OUT OF TOWN INTERESTS SUPERCEDING THE NEEDS/WORK RIGHTS OF LOCALS (INCLUDING INDIGENOUS TRIBES) Good content drop though Morgan

[@MC-qb1jg]

Morgan, you are absolutely right. When one door closes, another door opens.

[@virginiamoss7045]

I'm astonished at the old photograph of the two non-draft horses at the ready to pull tons of timber piled up on a sled structure. This is impossible even for the strongest of the breed of draft horses.

[@gabriellafox7948]

I had to stop and we can wind and look at the photo again. I could not believe that two horses would be able to pull that amount of timber! Poor horses!

[@virginiamoss7045]

@@gabriellafox7948 I suspect it was just for the photograph; in the background we see other horses in draft tack being readied. Still, it would take a team of 12 or more horses to pull that load; even then, on a sled, I can't see it.

[@sunriseeyes0]

This farm crime video is so well put together and tells the actual reasons why the crimes happen. You also suggest actionable ways to prevent the crimes and help both the people and the environment. You are wonderful 💗🙏🏽🌱

[@mattshaffer5935]

Grew up in South Seattle and spent a lot of time on the Olympic Peninsula during this time. Two prominent bumper stickers…. “Go Back to California” “Save A Tree…Wipe Your Ass with A Spotted Owl” I don’t recognize my region anymore.

[@Federweich]

Absolutely loved this video! Love True Crime and History stuff. Im not from the US so i never heard about the TImber War, but it was damn interesting to learn about!

[@TexasRoast]

The reward-to-risk ratio really doesn't seem to be enough of a deterrent.

[@BigginTV]

Keep up the good work🎉🎉. Love your vids..🎉🎉

[@tbh9247]

As a Washington resident, I remember the Timber Wars. Great episode.

[@Grandma_Lori]

Look at me learning history from Morgan! ❤

[@Lonesome__Dove]

Your comment just made me feel like someones ancestor.

[@Grandma_Lori]

@Lonesome__Dove Don't feel that way. "I" remember this being on the news. All of it made zero sense to me. Fighting over trees, fighting about owls, just so much anger. Then people chaining themselves to trees? I am the old one.

[@cjcarver6290]

A screeching halt! Well played, Morgan.

[@anitraahrens905]

Thanx, Morgan, for another valuable lesson on how some people prosper on other people's misery and misfortune. Yes, we all need to grow more trees and protect our environment, especially endangered species of trees, plants, and animals, including human beings.

[@bkm2797]

Thinking we could slow down on the humans if you get my drift, definitely not endangered.

[@anitraahrens905]

@bkm2797 Certain groups of people on this planet are threatened with extinction as a direct result of climate change. Please consider what has happened to the tribes of people who inhabit the Amazon rain forests in South America as an example.

[@bkm2797]

anitraahrens905, There are over 8 Billion people on this planet, while I am furious how deforestation due to greed is wiping out the home of these tribal people, and the Lungs of the planet. This group is not who I speak of, and I hope they are able to continue to live on their lands without other selfish humans trying to burn them out.

[@DieMorra]

This is great! What an interesting niche in the true crime universe.

[@sebigrell]

My favorite GoldShaw video yet!!!

[@marikotrue3488]

This should be a teaching moment for corporations and governments. I know that I have learned much more about what happened before that redwood tree was poached.

[@FeedMeSalt]

Tree law is crazy scary but they don't seem to care. My grandfather owned a farm in northern Ontario, years back some losers logged 22 acres without consent. They were out over 2 million. We never saw even 500k sadly.

[@Marilyn12346]

I’m in the PNW & they’re poaching burls, it’s been going on for years! There’s big money in those burls, the wood is gorgeous! My husband contracted with a lumber company to harvest Myrtlewood & Maple burls.

[@chilanya]

these giant trees.. to see them would inspire awe in me, i couldn't imagine cutting them down even if they're very useful building material.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

My father owned 600+ acres of land in NYS. And yes, in the past there were " Christmas" trees stole, trees that were getting ready for fire wood ( cords were taken) , saplings dug, any thing they thought they could steal. Plus the dumping of garbage and hunting on posted land. My husband and I spent most of deer season patroling land rather than hunting.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

But I. Can't imagine the anger the feelings of owners of the redwoods. But then again it is also happening on federal owned lands, so we all should be angry.

[@gracedawn]

That history song was EPIC!

[@lydias2012]

Oh another crime story. Can't wait. Thanks Morgan.

[@a.arrowlitster695]

I got a buddy that works for the Washington State department of forestry and he tells me probably 3 or 4 times a month about walking up on local thieves cutting burls off the bases of the bigger older trees. The knotted bumps.. once milled, sanded, and polished up they fetch insane prices on the black market apparently. He also mentioned that oddly they almost never completely fall or completely take a whole tree. That's not too say it doesn't goes differently elsewhere. Just a lil bit of inside info for ya. Also, I saw in the comments someone referred to Northern California is part of the Pacific Northwest. I had an uncle that was a cartographer and he would definitely tell you that is absolutely incorrect. The Pacific Northwest refers to the three most north west connected states (ID, WA & OR.), as well as Alaska & British Columbia. He's be livid, but I laughed so hard I choked on my tea. Keep up the vids Morgan! I find you when i was looking up how to grow chestnut trees... Great rabbit hole so far!

[@HappyChicken223]

Love this song! That explains most of my life for the past 10 years!

[@inkgoeswildalaska8439]

I can relate to this on a much smaller scale. My husband and I sold our home and purchased a smaller one on one acre last October. Our house is on the backside of the acre. On the property behind us were a couple of huge, quaking aspen trees; which, if they were to fall could have hit our house. We found out who owned the property and reached out to them to ask them if we could cut down those trees and/or purchase the property. The couple, who live in another town, were happy to sell us the property and we had the trees dropped. Not long after, as we were walking around the neighborhood, we stopped to chat with a neighbor who lives on the road behind us, and right next to the additional property we purchased. I asked him how his Internet service was (he has a dish on top of a metal tower on his roof) and he said, “It’s great. Although, I did cut down some trees that were in the way of me getting a clear signal.” The only trees, between his dish and the internet provider tower, were located on our property. However, he cut them down before we ever purchased it so we didn’t say anything about it. He still doesn’t know we own that property. 😄

[@YujiUedaFan]

Why not just cut the tops off the trees instead of the whole thing? I get it grows back, but it's better than killing the whole thing.

[@inkgoeswildalaska8439]

The quaking aspen trees on our property are 50 feet tall, @@YujiUedaFan; which is the equivalent of a 5 story building.

[@pamelamurphy4765]

We live in north central Arkansas. Back in the 1930’s they logged the river bottoms of the huge wild cherries, red and white oaks, sycamores, and other lesser species. They were so big that they had to be taken out of the bottoms one section at a time on the bed of trunks. I have a white oak that started life before 1775.

[@joyceruffcorn1595]

Excellent video Morgan! Well researched and informative! 👍🏼

[@Lonesome__Dove]

I've been wondering when the next farm crimes episode would be! Awesome. Also the sound you have here for your narrating is so crisp and clear. Its literally beautiful.

[@grandmothergoose]

The same sort of tree poaching story is happening in Australia, but it's less about poverty and more about the need for wood to build stuff with. Swap the spotted owl for koalas and a myriad of other threatened tree dwelling native marsupials and birds, the battle between the logging industries vs environmentalists is putting all the state governments in the middle of a rock and a hard place and it's become largely political, with each state government taking a different approach - and every approach is upsetting someone, so the protests and arguments continue. The saddest part is, for every ton of wood that can't be cut down anymore in Australia, we're importing a ton and a half of wood from overseas from places with even worse environmental records and regulations, and thus we're starting to save our own forests at the expense of rapidly increasing the destruction of natural forests in other countries. There is a big push for more plantation wood in Australia to be grown, and that's a good long-term solution, but in the short-term it's a bit of a nightmare. When it comes to building materials, nothing is good really. Plantation forests = monoculture which isn't ideal. Natural forests = destruction of ecosystems, even worse. If it's not made of wood the only other options are metals which require mining and smelting which is highly destructive or masonry products which are just as bad and in the case of concrete even worse; or plastics which doesn't need any explanation of the problems with that. The only potential saviour for the short term is bamboo, but the good large timber species only grow around the equator, and most of the countries that can grow and harvest it well enough to supply the world with it aren't getting western nations buying large amounts of it to use, largely because if that happened those equatorial countries would suddenly become equally wealthy, and we can't allow that to happen! [sarcasm].

[@anthonywashington2885]

9:18 did he roast his co-worker? 😂😂

[@RachelLaughlin]

Yes! True Farm crime! Love it 😊😆

[@kayak1981]

Your investigative videos are fascinating! This was a sad one but a cautionary tale for us. Thanks for sharing this video. I wish we could do more to prevent timber stealing. Those poor trees. Those poor people.

[@Nasalkeihpos]

Your theme at the moment is thefts, no? I hope your duck eggs, trail cameras and trees stay safe.

[@wsn111]

It's not a theme, just coincides. He does farm hiest videos from time to time, like the ones about maple syrup and beehives. Interesting watch.

[@MzClementine]

​@@wsn111heist?

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@wsn111 Morgan is concerned about environmental iniquity.

[@wsn111]

@@MzClementine yes. The he talked about the people who stole maple syrup in Canada and the people who stole beehives in California. Not his farm

[@wsn111]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 yes. And he also does videos about other interesting things not related to his farm.

[@johnr.seydel3821]

Love these edu-tainment farm crimes! Keep it up. Learning so much and sooo entertained haha

[@shannonannagins]

You asked how do we help people who are impacted by job loss in areas like logging communities. I think it's especially difficult because so many rural communities deeply value self-sufficiency. These are often communities that are culturally offended by the idea of social welfare programs and government assistance. It's really challenging and you're absolutely right that there's not a simple answer to a situation of this complexity.

[@poorwotan]

Yes. That's part of it and we see that in so many "blue collar" jobs that deal with natural resources. When city slickers demand changes that the rural communities make their living on, I can fully understand their anger and desperation. We see this also in coal country, fishing, mining, even farming (probably a lot more). Surely there MUST be better ways than the zero-sum game we are seeing nowadays. There's a total lack of empathy of the affected by those claiming to be oh so empathic...

[@thePrisoner1000]

It isn't so much logging has declined, it's more of the failure of the lumber mills to adapt, so what has been happening in Oregon is that lots of trees are logged, but instead of being milled, they are just shipped raw now. @@poorwotan For coal mining, there are lots of coal mining jobs, but coal companies go into an area, there is a boom in jobs, the coal runs out and the companies move on to the next area, which can leave the area poor, West Virginia being a good example of the problem. You can earn 6 figures coal mining, but you might have to move and the job is very hard, and most aren't willing to do it. Over fishing isn't good thing for anybody either.

[@MissMeganBeckett]

Social welfare programs are a huge part of the solution for communities that are experiencing large scale job loss, I think maybe we need more education and public service commercials about this to de stigmatize welfare like we are doing to de stigmatize mental healthcare.

[@poorwotan]

@@MissMeganBeckett Sorry but those need to eliminated as much as possible and we need to go back to a time where living off the govt is a stigmatizing condition in society. People want honest jobs that will help them feed themselves and their families. Again, a little getting away from the zero-sum game being played with natural resources these days.

[@thePrisoner1000]

I think we could use a New Deal type program like FDR implemented @@MissMeganBeckett

[@garydzidowski1134]

My wife and her siblings own acreage near Eden VT. In the 1980s the state DNR spotted timber poachers stealing trees from their property. He tracked them to the Canadian border. We worked with him and had the property selectively cut. This paid the taxes for several years and improved the health of the woods. The family still uses it for camping and now one of the neighbors keeps an eye on the property for hunting privlages.

[@JustJaneDough]

I learned something new. I never knew tree poaching was a thing

[@ceceliafernandes-7923]

Wow! I had no idea this was going on. Thank you Morgan for bringing this to my attention.

[@Still.No.Name.]

Ah! Another comrade. Good to see. All power to the workers!

[@Lonesome__Dove]

Puke

[@barbarahaberman349]

You have a wonderful voice for storytelling.

[@Fiona2254]

That’s terrible that people even poach trees

[@vyanen9223]

Somehow, your channel was recommended about 3 weeks ago! Whenever I can, I get on here and watch your videos!! Your content is on par with my views and you are an incredible storyteller!!! Rock on🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@GoldShawFarm]

Thank you!

[@piperleelee]

Excellent historical lesson with environmental issues.

[@ogieogie]

Morgan Gold: NEVER SING! UGH!

[@Dragantraces]

The US Pacific Northwest is Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. Redwoods are largely a California tree, though there is a relatively small area of southwest Oregon that has redwoods. Compared to California's redwoods, Oregon's forests and the trees themselves are smaller. But any could be targeted, especially redwood burls. The really valuable trees that are poached in the state of Washington are maples. Figured maple is hardwood desired for musical instruments, particularly guitars. But not redwoods. That's California. Washington's redwoods, and Idaho's too, are transplants, maybe even transplanted poached California redwoods. (Idaho has had issues with timber thefts for lumber, but not so much for specialty woods. I think wildlife poaching is a bigger issue there.) Anyway, my first point is that it's largely erroneous to indicate that poaching redwoods is a Pacific Northwest issue. The vast majority of redwood poaching is in California, since that's where the vast majority of those trees grow, and that is not the PNW. As a member of a six-generation Washington family, I am appalled by the theft of trees, from public or private lands. I am pleased that prosecutors here have won at least one case using DNA testing to prove maple wood was stolen from a particular tree. Timber poaching, like copper theft, or catalytic converter theft needs to be addressed in ways that "speads the love." Buyers of these materials know damned well that most if what crosses their property lines is not legitimate. If their feet are held to the fire about making sure the seller is legit, the market would lessen significantly. Seriously, who other than a thief has redwood burls, lengths of copper wire, bits of noble metals (from catalytic converters) in the back of their pickup, or the trunk of their third-hand Outback? The buyers are basically "fences" and should be treated as such. Receiving stolen property is a crime. And, as us usual, the real crimes against the forests in any if these four states was done decades ago. Weyerhauser and other companies would have cut everything in sight if environmentalists, long before the term was coined, hadn't bucked the local-jobs-before-anything crews coupled with the profits before everything corporations. It's the same story with salmon. And fur seal pups, or any "fur-bearing" creatures. To say nothing of the ecological devastion wrought by the minerals extraction industries, far more in the name of getting rich than fir any ither reason. I remember years ago watching Barbara Walters interviewing a developer in California. The "entrepreneur" was looking to get permission to cut oart if protected redwood forests. She was quite aghast at his nonchalance when she asked about what he thought about the non-monetary value of 500-plus-year-old trees and he replied that "they'd grow back". That nothing has value until somebody is naking money from it mindset is the real threat. And all of this doesn't begin to consider the other environmental impacts. Wow. I didn't expect to have so much to say about this, but it matters. Once the damage is done, there really is no way to fully recover. We might be able to make things less bad, but much if the damage is permanent.

[@BearMeat4Dinner]

Morgan that’s less than 50 miles away from me from me in SF!!! Da mini mansion we got in SF has a lot of redwood in it. It’s over one hundred years old…

[@kathrynkramer8345]

Such a great, balanced presentation! Thank you!!!

[@carolkimbell5174]

Thank you for making this video!

[@GoldShawFarm]

Glad it was helpful!

[@maryoesterborg344]

I listened to the complete post. It was very interesting. You spoke on things that I’ve never even heard about or considered.

[@JacquesTreehorn]

Wetland mitigation banking is a good way to restore wetland tree species where they are needed most. Buffer rules are also really helpful. Conservation easement requirements in municipal code also really help. Trees help a great deal with flooding. Look at what a little rain does to rivers and streams in the desert compared to a little rain on the East coast.

[@RoseNZieg]

alongside reforestation, wetland restoration is very essential to maintaining current weathers.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Why doesn't the government just hire ex-logger families and hire them to PLANT trees?

[@ingridskitchengarden]

I live in a small town which was affected by the controversy over the spotting owl. I don’t condone the poaching of old growth. On another note we have responsible timber farming all around us. We need trees for building homes, furniture, heating our homes. I know a few ppl who follow behind timber companies clean up the land and use that wood to sell for fire wood. On another note good video Morgan. Thank you for your time and research on this topic maybe it will let people voice opinions and experience in the comments.

[@devmeistersuperprecision4155]

I was introduced to tree poaching by my Buddy. He had a ranch in Neb. When he went to the ranch from our homes in Colorado, he caught three or four men poaching a huge walnut tree. They had cut the tree down and we’re about to load it. My Buddy pulled out his Kimber 45 ACP and these guys high tailed it out of there. We salvaged the saw logs. My hand made machinists tool box has drawer fronts made from this tree. You need to be on the look out for these guys. You should also discuss kings arrow wood. Oak and tall pines for masts. The trees were marked with an arrow using a hatchet. They were claimed by the British navy. The penalty for poaching a kings arrow tree was death!!!!

[@steveshoemaker6347]

This old man wants to hear more FARM CRIME video from you Morgan......Because they are AMAZING Old Flying Shoe🇺🇸

[@catsamandaandfriends]

Drones could patrol the forests and at least help catch them.

[@freedomfighter4990]

What kind of people actually think it's part of their "culture" to cut down old-growth trees on public lands that belong to everyone?

[@fuzzylop9164]

Thank you for this video. I had no clue that tree poaching was going on. Nor was I awhere of how important old wood growth was to the environment if you believe that carbon emissions is the problem.

[@gailjordan9250]

This is an excellent presentation.

[@susanjenkinsrietz]

We are fighting timber poaching right now on some farm land in west Tennessee. It is a horrible fight and has destroyed our farm land. 😢

[@romaurer]

Great story telling, thanks, very enjoyable.

[@jennifreakthompson8888]

Morgan, you are such a natural story teller. Just for the record, my coffee table is made of IKEA particle board 🛹

[@mayzart]

One might say Robin Hood was Robbin' Wood

[@Shridra]

I had to laugh at the Monty Python bit - my husband did some lumberjacking with his dad as a teen, and up to the time we met. His dad actually was a lumberjack from 14 til he had a stroke about 5 years back, probably one of the longest working lumberjacks in the industry! But my husband and I met online and when he first came to visit me my family teased him mercilessly by randomly playing the Lumberjack song lol. Thankfully he took it in stride ;) That being said, if you're building something and have a choice between Irving stamped wood and anything else, please choose something else! Irving clear cuts here, then replaces what they've cut with softwood trees, which has caused major issues with flooding, amongst other things. They also bought out a lot of the smaller timber companies and very nearly have a monopoly over the lumber industry. They don't pay their lumber workers nearly enough for the danger of the job (my husband has personally seen someone lose limbs because of a tree, as well as he and his dad witnessed someone being pulled into a mill). They're bullies, verging on a mafia family, including, according to rumors, making people disappear.

[@gratitude7397]

Doc Baker!!!!!❤ Thanks Morgan😅

[@kevbev1524]

That's just is disappointing and disturbing, 😢

[@pamelavargas6811]

Another informative episode ❤

[@wsn111]

Folks on reddit love them some tree law. If someone kills a healthy old tree illegally, thats a few 100k at least.

[@paulreed6976]

Even here in suburban Maryland, we have Black Walnut tree poachers and Burl poachers. I can hardly imagine what goes on elsewhere...

[@kensmith5694]

That was really well done.

[@kristenirwin2933]

I am from upper Michigan. When I was around nine, I used the exact same tactic to stop a Walmart from moving in to our town. No matter what's they tried to build, I would find an endangered species there. This same tactic was also used to stop oil companies from drilling in areas. We still have lumberjacks up here. I have dated a few. They are a little different now. Most work with tree specialists and the DNR and they mark trees that need to come down. Most of the time they have some sort of infestation or disease.

[@DelorseLSeattle]

Greetings from the PNW north of Seattle... Great video, lots of research there. Interesting history, and yet the the conflicts remain. Lately here in the metro area there have been some tree-sitters trying to prevent developers from cutting down some of the few "big trees", and hope they succeed. Developers seem to be rampantly chewing up the trees these days. I do remember the days of owls vs timber. Of James Watt. And "seen one tree you've seen them all." Thanks for bringing this important story. It is being replayed over and over... greed, fear of change, the profit seeking corporations vs enviro/eco good sense/our own survivability, the common man... the oil, the coal, etc.. change is hard. I didn't realize tree poaching was such a huge thing, knew it happened. But wow. By the way Pacific NW has not included CA. Thanks for your time & sharing.

[@craigk.235]

This was fascinating, I love the spooky vibe! Those owls are beautiful. Tree poaching definitely sounds horrible, I don't like that at all.

[@pawnypawny4496]

I love how wilderness international handles their conservation projects in Peru. They buy rain forrest in peru and pays the local people to guard their forrest. This works very well there but i think this is because there arent so many locals. Anyway it is quite a nice concept.

[@Furiousboot]

I never new about this. Thanks for sharing.

[@reddrockingeezer]

The timber industry is planting millions of fairly rapidly growing trees that can be fully sustainable, but it will not help the logging industry. The logging is done by one man in a machine that cuts the tree, delimbs the tree and possibly also debarks the log before it loads it onto a flatbed. Crew not required.

[@irishrebel1976]

When I was in the Army and stationed up at Ft. Lewis we caught people stealing trees while we were on a field training exercise. We were camping deep in the woods and heard chainsaws. When we went to check it out we found 3 people working in the pitch black cutting trees. Just like this they were cutting pieces of trees.

[@biglee13m]

I was just at Yosemite. Went to see sequoia trees.