By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Winlock man was sentenced yesterday in federal court to six months in prison, six months of home detention, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay nearly $160,000 for violating the Lacey Act by trafficking in big leaf maple illegally cut on national forest land.
Harold Clause Kupers, 48, pleaded guilty in November, and admitted he suspected the specialty maple had been illegally taken from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
[1]Courtesy photo by U.S. Attorney’s Office
Kupers was the owner and operator of the now defunct J & L Tonewoods, which sold the wood to purchasers in interstate commerce for total revenues of $499,414, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The maple is particularly valuable for musical instruments.
Kupers was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by Judge Benjamin H. Settle.
“You were a central figure in what made this all [the stolen maple trade] work … You knew you were getting stolen wood, but you hid behind ignorance,” Settle said.
U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes said Kupers acted as essentially a fence for stolen goods.
“As long as unscrupulous mill owners like this defendant create a market for poached wood, our protected forests are at risk,” Hayes stated in a news release.
According to the plea agreement, in April 2012, law enforcement officers with the U.S. Forest Service met with Kupers and specifically informed him that he was required by Washington law to review specialized forest products permits for all persons from whom he purchased maple.
Despite that, he admitted, he continued to buy the wood without requiring the harvesters to show the permit until March 2014.
Three men who illegally cut the wood previously pleaded guilty to theft of public property or conspiracy to steal public property for illegally harvesting the maple trees in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in November and December 2011 and May 2012.
James Miller, 36, of Morton was sentenced in February to six months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ryan Justice, 28, of Randle, was sentenced in December to 15 months in prison. Kevin Mullins, 56, of Packwood, is scheduled for sentencing June 6.
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For background, read “Feds: Winlock mill owner admits illegal buying and selling of specialty maple ‘music wood’ ” from Monday November 16, 2015, here [2]