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

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM J. ANTHONY LUKAS BOOK AWARD LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 PEN/JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH AWARD FOR NONFICTION FINALIST FOR THE NELLIE BY CHANTICLEER INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FOR JOURNALISTIC NON-FICTION A gripping investigation of the billion-dollar timber black market "and a fascinating examination of the deep and troubled relationship between people and forests" (Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts). There's a strong chance that chair you are sitting on was made from stolen lumber. 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 ar