Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods

Historian Bourgon explores the lucrative and complex crime of timber poaching in her fascinating debut. An estimated $1 billion worth of wood is poached annually in North America alone, Bourgon writes, and while the forest was once seen as “a common source of commodities or privileges,” there’s long been a tension resulting from conservation efforts and private forest management initiatives that too often “disregard and marginalize the working-class people who not only live among the trees but rely on them to survive.” As well, historically, the creation of national and state parks displaced Indigenous and logging communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, and broader industry declines led to widespread job loss and an increase in poverty levels in logging communities. As such, Bourgon posits that timber poaching can be “an act to reclaim one’s place in a rapidly changing world” and promotes changing forest management policies so that they take into account the communities involved. Bourgon’s thoughtful approach and sharp investigative reporting will give environmentalists, policymakers, and park lovers a new perspective on the consequences of prioritizing endangered environments at the expense of the people who live in them. Nature lovers, take note. (June)