teatersroad
What's a henway?
So..is it much different than having to prove that the truck you are driving is your truck, or that you have a legal right to use it?
Y'all might want to look at it this way.
The Feds can hire an army of contracted security folks to continiously monitor the forrests, or nab the thieves at the choke points and deter the activity.
The first choke point is on the roads.
The second is at the Mills.
After the Mill, it's kinda tough to determine the wood was swiped so it's gotta be the roads and Mills.
Mills are supposed to keep records and such, but backyard mills are a reality so it's back to the Roads.
I disagree completely with "Transporting wood" as a legal justification for disrupting a citizens right to free journey though, as there are 100 other things that would be more appropriate going on that could be used."Unsecure load", obstructed Lisc. plate(Trailer hitch/mud will do most times), crossing fog line, etc.
Y'all also forget that most of the roads out in that corner of the planet are Federal, and come with thier own baggage that would be deemed blatently unconstitutional on State and local roadways.
Us folks not surrounded by and supported by the Fed. just ain't used to such things, or thinking with that in mind.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
See, that's what I don't care for. Not to mention the fact that it is un-constitutional, and therefore ilegal. Since the courts are only open from about 10:00 AM to about 4:00 PM, that means if I get ticketed for not having a permit then I have to take at least 1 day off of work. Not to mention draging the land owner into court. Then comes the time to collect the "evidence" required to prove my innocence. As I said earlier, we are supposed to be assumed innocent until proved guilty.
So..is it much different than having to prove that the truck you are driving is your truck, or that you have a legal right to use it?
For logs coming off the Forest Service, there are different requirements in different areas. In Oregon and Washington, if the logs are of any size, both ends must be branded (whacked hard with a hammer with a registered brand on it) and have yellow paint on the ends. The loads also get a ticket on them, and that ticket book is checked out by only people who have been designated, in writing, by the timber sale purchaser. Unused books are turned back in. The ticket books are kept locked up, and only certain people have keys. It makes it hard to forge tickets, although books have been stolen. I'm the first line of defense. I get to annoy the truckers and have them stop and let me check their loads for compliance.
The yellow paint is supposed to make it easy to spot any wayward logs in the export yards. It is against the law to export logs from FS land, except for Alaskan Yellow Cedar, in this area. Logs have shown up in export yards and can be traced back from the brand on the end. I have been told that the brand will show up on an x-ray even if the ends are cut off. The wood will still be compressed in the shape of the brand.
This does seem out of place and a hassle with some of the 80 log loads we have nowdays. But everybody knows what is required so they go in with eyes open.
Yep!
If no one stands up for what is right, some day you may have to carry a permit to prove that the bread on your sandwich in your lunch bucket wasn't poached somewhere.
Do you have to carry a permit to prove that you own your chainsaw?
How about your boot's?
I guess they can put a file cabinet in the cab of new trucks as an option to keep all of our permits straight.
Andy
Boy did this thread get off track. Stealing wood off forestry land is something we can all agree is wrong. But when you get pulled over for having cut, split, seasoned firewood in the back of your truck that #### is just WRONG.
Boy did this thread get off track. Stealing wood off forestry land is something we can all agree is wrong. But when you get pulled over for having cut, split, seasoned firewood in the back of your truck that #### is just WRONG.
I've got to fart, I'll be back. I've got to go get a permit to release methane gas into the atmosphere. :fart:
Andy
Thanks for the courtesy.
Prepare to have a value-added tax slapped on that fuel product. And if you've been eating burritos, you best be stocking up on your carbon credits.
Ok.
Now we're off topic. :hmm3grin2orange:
Andy
Here in Region 1, we have no load tickets for firewood. Cutters are "supposed" to keep their permit on the dash of the truck where it is visible for inspection. Passing a loaded truck on a Forest road at 10mph and not seeing a permit in the dash is probable cause to stop the truck and check permits. Now if that same truck is traveling 55mph down the highway, you have an entirely different scenario. I personally would never make that stop, as it's getting really "grey" and my job/credibility is worth more to me than that. Different states/counties may do things differently, but I work for Uncle Sam, and all my stops are on the "green" with only a few minor exceptions (ie. saw the vehicle leaving the forest at an earlier time).
Someone mentioned catching people in the act is the best way to solve the problem. That is by FAR the easiest/cleanest way to do it, but also the most difficult. Luckily, I happened on a couple cutters today w/ a full load of Western Larch getting ready to load up the saws and head down the hill. Larch is highly prized around here for firewood, so when someone gets one next to the road, it's a rare occurrence. I hiked up the hill to look at the stump and then the branches they had sawed off and realized this was a live tree....VERY ALIVE with plenty of needles just starting to turn yellow w/ the fall cool down. Not only that, the cutters had also dumped a 18" live Ponderosa in attempt to knock down an 8" larch that was hung up in another tree. One load of confiscated wood, two tickets, and two pissed off cutters later, I headed down the hill to complete paperwork.
I say this to illustrate the fact that bad cutters give all of us a bad name. I love to cut wood, but would never dream of cutting a large healthy tree down to retrieve a small firewood tree that wouldn't fill out a rick in my truck.
Do it right, keep it clean, and be courteous, and I'll give you every break in the world. Do it wrong, and be a slob cutter, and I'll do everything I can to make your life miserable.
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