Forest Rangers on Lookout for Tree Rustlers
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Christmas tree rustling in California’s national forests is one holiday season rite that must be stopped, forest rangers said.
“A lot people think that if I just take one, it’s not a problem,” said Carla Van Dyne at the Tujunga district office of Angeles National Forest. “Once they start cutting or even damage (the tree), it is going to die.”
U.S. Forest Service officials said tree poachers are a problem in the Los Padres, Angeles and San Bernardino national forests, stretching from Ventura to San Bernardino counties. Tree thievery is especially serious in Southern California forests because there are relatively few evergreens to begin with, and the trees face disease, insects and smog, foresters said.
Los Padres National Forest in northern Ventura County has only six federal employees to keep watch over the 500,000-acre Mt. Pinos reserve.
The penalty for taking a tree is usually a $50 fine, but the penalty can be as heavy as a $5,000 fine and include a one-year jail term.
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