Tree Spiking Bill Pt 2
I’m Bob Larson. A House bill called the Tree Spiking Mitigation Act addresses a problem that gained notoriety when eco-terrorists drove steel spikes into trees to discourage timber harvesting.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse who says it’s a serious problem with potentially deadly consequences …
NEWHOUSE … “It’s not just people going out into the forest and driving a 8-penny nail into a tree. This is a deliberate act, driving a large piece of steel, I’ve seen pictures of them at 12-inches, 18-inches long into trees, unbeknownst to anybody that’s anticipating cutting the trees down or sawing them into logs.”
Newhouse says tree spiking goes back decades …
NEWHOUSE … “It’s something that we haven’t talked about a lot over the last several years, but many of us recall, back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, that this was quite a common occurrence on the part of many groups that were trying to prevent the harvesting of trees.”
And, Newhouse says Tracy Stone-Manning, current nominee to lead the BLM, has been linked to tree spiking efforts by environmentalists …
NEWHOUSE … “That’s why this has come up again with the nomination of this individual to lead the Bureau of Land Management which has responsibilities for many of our federal forests. And so, that’s why this is so important.”
Newhouse says the TSM Act will enable us to identify and eliminate tree spikes and protect forestry workers.
