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Looted Lumber Lands Kentucky Man First-Ever DNR Timber Theft Charge

ECP
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/shamanic-shift/

A Kentucky man is facing the rare charge of timber theft in Indiana, which could land him up to 10 months in prison.

Cheyenne Allen of Salyersville, Kentucky, is facing federal charges after being caught in an illegal timber scheme.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the US Attorney’s Office worked together on the case, which is the first time someone has been charged for timber theft in Indiana.

“There is still the black market in [timber selling] where people like Allen see a huge opportunity to make money,” says Tina Shaw of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “And he made more than $80,000 thousand off of this timber.”

Allen, who was previously a legal buyer in the state of Indiana, had his buyer’s license revoked by the DNR in October 2009 for similar repeated timber theft. While there still is a sizable market for timber, some decide to go another route.

“Those particular trees were taken care of for a long time by the landowner and it’s very disheartening to see someone’s hard efforts taken away from them,” Shaw says.

The type of trees that Allen stole from private land were black walnut trees, which are the most valuable trees found in Indiana. After Allen stole and sold the timber, it got as far as Austria, Germany, and Indonesia as buyers would be able to use the timber for things such as flooring and furniture wood inlays.