The Great Pacific Northwest Timber Heist
A federal investigation reveals that $40 million worth of timber was pilfered from government lands in the Puget Sound region since 1855, fueling a battle over corporate exploitation of public resources.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A special agent of the general land office has been prosecuting inquiries along the coast from Mendocino to Puget Sound to ascertain and report on the spoliation of timber on government lands. He makes a prodigious account of the depredations. He thinks that since 1855 there has been cut on government land at Puget Sound timber worth not less than $40,000,000; and he estimates the depredations along the California coast, mostly about Mendocino and Humboldt, at $20,000,000 more. No public statement has yet been made showing the basis upon which these estimates are founded. It is likely that the figures are fully large enough. Years ago at Puget Sound large quantities of timber were cut from government lands, but latterly there has been much less spoliation. This agent charges that certain mills on the Sound continue to cut up government timber, and similar charges are made against mills on the California coast. It is recommended that proceedings be taken to recover the value of the timber in the more recent cases of spoliation, where the evidence is within easy reach.
“This agent charges that certain mills on the Sound continue to cut up government timber.”
The tension between private profit and the public stewardship of natural resources has been a defining feature of Washington's economy since territorial days. Just as 1870s mills faced accusations of timber poaching, modern debates regarding state-owned lands and corporate extraction continue to shape the regional landscape.
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