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Tree Thieves
- Crime and Survival in North America's Woods
- Narrated by: Hayden Bishop
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
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Summary
The tree was poached in a two-part operation. It was felled one night and taken another.
Here was a murder mystery in the deep woods: who had taken the cedar, how had they done so, and—most importantly—why?
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 marginalised 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 listeners on a thrilling journey into the intrigue, crime and incredible complexity sheltered under the forest canopy.
Critic reviews
"Tree Thieves is both an absorbing true-crime story and a fascinating examination of the deep and troubled relationship between people and forests. From Sherwood Forest to the California redwoods to the Peruvian Amazon, Lyndsie Bourgon illuminates the violent conflicts over power, class and identity that continue to shape and scar the forests we depend on.'" (Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction)
"Tree Thieves is a deeply researched examination of the past, present, and future of our forests, told through stories of timber poaching. Lyndsie Bourgon shows us that we must take into account all the complexities of human-nature relationships if we are to have any hope of keeping our standing giants alive." (Gina Rae La Cerva, author of Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food)
"Tracking thieves, poachers and capitalists, Lyndsie Bourgon masterfully takes on the role of detective shining a light on the complex and camouflaged world of the timber black market. The result is a meticulous investigation and a powerful testimony to the trees silently taken and the consequences of their fall that reverberate well beyond the forest.'" (Harley Rustad, Author of Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas)