Second Redwood Burl Poacher Sentenced
National Park Service

EUREKA, CA - The second of two California Redwood burl poachers has now been sentenced. Danny Garcia must pay $11,178 in restitution and serve 700 hours of community service for vandalizing the giant trees at Redwood National and State Parks near Eureka, CA.

Second Redwood Burl Poacher SentencedThe widely reported case, prosecuted at in California District Court, gained national attention. The forest is a World Heritage Site.

Garcia's accomplice, Larry Morrow, pleaded guilty in May to felony charges in vandalizing the trees. He remains in jail on other charges. The two sliced burls from the sides of the massive redwoods, selling them to local dealers. In some cases they felled entire trees to reach the woody outgrowths located higher up.

National Park Service and California State Parks Law Enforcement Park Rangers and Investigators captured the pair following a year-long investigation. 

On April 19, 2013, a researcher in the park discovered cuts on an old growth redwood trees. Park rangers discovered a 10-foot diameter, old-growth redwood tree that had been badly damaged by the removal of several large burls. The burls cut from the tree were massive, the largest cut measuring approximately 8.3 feet at the base, 8.2 feet in height, and 1.7 feet deep (approximately 115 cubic feet).

When an anonymous tip led to the discovery of the burls at a local shop, park rangers matched the size and shape of the cut burls in the shop with those taken from the old-growth redwood tree at the poaching site. 

Burl poaching, which park officials  involves the cutting of burls from both live and dead trees, felling of living old-growth redwood trees to access burls from higher up the stem, and the cutting of down logs for ornamental furniture, veneer, and souvenirs. Park law enforcement rangers say they are conducting several other investigations regarding theft and damage to redwood trees inside the park.

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