Rising hardwood timber prices are luring thieves to hit the woods and start cutting. Police who once did little to track down illegal timber cutters now take the crime more seriously because more money is involved. The Associated Press reports:

Other states, including New York, have started timber theft prevention campaigns that warn property owners of the common claims thieves make when caught red-handed.

In Kentucky, the problem has resulted in the formation of the Appalachian Roundtable, a nonprofit that joins forestry experts, attorneys, law enforcement and victims to alert landowners to logging scams and pursue criminal charges against timber thieves. The group is drafting legislation to be introduced in the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly to make timber theft a felony punishable by a prison sentence.

"Historically, it's been viewed by local police and the judiciary as a civil complaint," said Keith Cain, president of the Kentucky Sheriffs Association. "But the theft of timber is a criminal issue and should be prosecuted as such."

With the overseas demand for North American hardwoods growing, it's become a more costly issue for private landowners, whose tree farms and woodlands make up 55 percent of U.S. timber production, forestry officials say. The rest comes from lands owned by the state and federal governments, the logging industry and other investors.

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