Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in the Woods

Tree Thieves is a gripping account of the billion-dollar timber black market and how it intersects with environmentalism, class, and culture. Lyndsie Bourgon takes us deep into the underbelly of the illegal timber market, introducing us to tree poachers, law enforcement, forensic wood specialists, and the enigmatic residents of former logging communities. She reveals that failing to include working-class and rural communities in the preservation of these ecosystems can lead to catastrophic results.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2022
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

A gripping account of the billion-dollar timber black market -- and how it intersects with environmentalism, class, and culture.

In Tree Thieves, Lyndsie Bourgon takes us deep into the underbelly of the illegal timber market. As she traces three timber poaching cases, she introduces us to tree poachers, law enforcement, forensic wood specialists, the enigmatic residents of former logging communities, environmental activists, international timber cartels, and indigenous communities along the way.

Old-growth trees are invaluable and irreplaceable for both humans and wildlife, and are the oldest living things on earth. But the morality of tree poaching is not as simple as we might think: stealing trees is a form of deeply rooted protest, and a side effect of environmental preservation and protection that doesn't include communities that have been uprooted or marginalized when park boundaries are drawn. As Bourgon discovers, failing to include working-class and rural communities in the preservation of these awe-inducing ecosystems can lead to catastrophic results.

Featuring excellent investigative reporting, fascinating characters, logging history, political analysis, and cutting-edge tree science, Tree Thieves takes readers on a thrilling journey into the intrigue, crime, and incredible complexity sheltered under the forest canopy.

Bourgon brilliantly shows that while following the scientific theory seems simple from a concrete jungle, for those educated under the shade of the trees, it is a complex and nuanced issue that requires a holistic approach.

Tree Thieves is a must-read for anyone interested in environmental issues, conservation, and the intersection of power, privilege, and the natural world.

Weight: 532g
Dimension: 163 x 243 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529331097