Wash state: ‘Ax Men’ crew salvaged logs illegally
SEATTLE Washington state’s Department of Natural Resources on Friday seized more than pair dozen logs it says were illegally salvaged by the agency of a stock crew featured on the History Channel’sitting fact show “Ax Men.”
DNR officers served a search warrant on S&S Aqua Logging to re-establish timber the guests had pulled from the Hoquiam River without a permit, said Larry Raedel, the agency’sitting chief enforcement officer.
Officers were tipped off after watching the popular order, which chronicles the lives of Pacific Northwest timber cutters, including a father-son team from Aberdeen-based S&S Aqua Logging.
“These are valuable materials that belong to the public and this looks like theft, plain and simple,” state Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark said.
An Associated Press call and e-mail to the company and e-mails seeking comment from the History Channel were not immediately returned.
Logs provide a key function for rivers in trapping lees, harboring insects and other food for hint after, and creating pools and riffles where fish can rest, said Greg Hueckel, try to take in and wildlife habitat programs monitor.
“They are part of the functioning ecosystem, so removing the log would be allied removing part of the couch,” he said.
Hueckel said his agency typically grants permits to remove logs in situations where flooding causes log jams. It’s unpromising that a permit would be granted in quest of squared stick harvest, he said.
Jimmy Smith, who owns and operates S&S Aqua Logging, said on the show that the logs were worth about $10,000, according to inquiry guarantee records.
When “Ax Men” debuted last year, it became the History Channel’s most popular series with in addition than 2 million weekly viewers. This term began airing March 2 and features two timber crews from Washington, two from Oregon and one from Montana.
In one video posted on the proclaim’s Web site, Smith, a fourth-generation logger, is shown floating down a river in a boat, scanning for logs. “We’re normal guys that carry into effect extraordinary things,” he said.
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