The State Division of Forestry is looking to the Kentucky legislature for help in dealing with persistent logging violators. Legislation to that end has passed both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly and has been sent to the governor. Division of Forestry Director Leah McSwords says the bill focuses on repeat offenders. "If we find a three or more 'bad actor' who has not paid the penalty or has not cleaned up the site, we can shut them down wherever they're harvesting in the state," McSwords said. "So, that provides a little more incentive for them to sort of make it right."
McSwords says there are about 2,500 loggers in the Commonwealth. Of that number, she says 190 have been determined to be 'bad actors' and 88 of them repeat offenders.
Hazard Representative Fitz Steele says timber theft is a big concern in his district. "When people come home, their kids or grand kids come back home to look at their property and they find that people have come up on their land and stole their timber and it's gone and it will never be replaced," said Steele. "That's the big issue that I find; it's not right."
Representatives with the timber association and State Division of Forestry say the approved legislation would not directly impact theft issues. ?
