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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 20, 2005 Karen Gillespie of the Bureau of Land Management in Medford examines a portion of a 10,000-pound stolen burl seized by federal agents. On the trail of burl thieves A madrone chunk taken near Jacksonville has been recovered, but other burls remain missing By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune An ancient madrone burl the size of a Volkswagen bug stolen from public land in the Forest Creek drainage near Jacksonville has been recovered by federal agents working with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. The huge chunk, which weighed some 10,000 pounds before the thieves cut it up for transport, was worth about $8,000 to them, said Mike Windom, special agent for the Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District. An anonymous tip in mid-October prompted the investigation into the theft of the monstrous burl, estimated to be several hundred years old. Most burls weigh no more than a ton or so, Windom said. "This burl was already out of the ground — the tree was cut off of it," he said. "The burl was partially loaded on a trailer." Advertisement Burls are enlarged growths at the top of the root area, often partially above and partially below the surface. The dense wood is highly prized for ornamental veneer. Burl harvesters typically first cut the roots, then push or pull the tree over, exposing the burl. It can take several days of hard labor to remove a large burl, officials said. Since the tree was already dead, investigators focused on nabbing the thieves who had cut a lock on a BLM gate to gain access, Windom said. Based on evidence obtained from surveillance of the site, two suspects are expected to be charged with first-degree theft, a Class C felony which can include a five-year prison sentence and a $125,000 fine, he said. "This theft represents an ongoing problem for us," he said, referring to forest product thefts within the district. In the past five years, the district has had 35 burl thefts. Burls can be obtained legally through a permit system for either the BLM’s district or the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, he noted. Legitimate burl harvesters pay 10 cents per pound through the permit system. Local sellers are typically receiving up to 85 cents a pound from a burl buyer, he estimated. "There are buyers who ship them to Asia or Europe where they make them into veneer," he said. A burl is often worth much more overseas, where the wood can become dashboards for expensive automobiles such as Mercedes and BMWs, Windom said. Locally, a cottage industry has developed for the burls, he said, noting the attractive wood becomes everything from tables to wall hangings. "But the guy who gets the burl in the field has to have a permit," he said. "They have to have permission from the landowners. The buyer has to be able to document where these burls came from." The BLM currently is processing a permit request for the removal of 66 burls from the district. "We try to make permits available — they are fairly inexpensive," said district spokeswoman Karen Gillespie. "We encourage people to get the permits to help manage and protect our resources." Permits are required for resource protection as well as to prevent environmental damage, Windom explained. "Through the permit system, we can say yea or nay depending on where the burl is physically located," he said. A quick check showed no legitimate permits had been issued to remove burls from that area of Forest Creek, he said. Members of the public can help by calling 1-800-267-0038 if they see potential illegal activity on public land, he said. "It’s real easy for us to check by pulling the permit up," he said. "We don’t have to bother the person out in the woods." The huge burl will likely be sold by the BLM once the case goes through the court system, he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at On the trail of burl thieves ">[email protected] . Yule tree permits hit record A record 9,200 Christmas tree permits were issued on the Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest this year. This year’s tree permits topped the 2002 record of 8,740. But not everyone who took holiday products from the forest this season purchased a required permit. An estimated 1,000 pounds of cedar boughs were reported stolen on the national forest. Thieves stripped about a dozen cedar trees, which will eventually cause all of them to die, said forest spokeswoman Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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