Many rural landowners across the country have significant value in standing timber on their lands. Because these forested lands are often remote and boundaries are often not clearly delineated, many landowners are at risk of having their timber harvested unlawfully and of not being fully compensated for the resulting harm. To address this issue and provide appropriate protection for landowners, states across the country have enacted timber trespass statutes that provide remedies, including enhanced damages, as a deterrent to this unlawful timber harvesting.

In this webinar, we will provide a background of timber trespass statutes generally at the state level. We will review selected provisions in individual state laws with a specific focus on the actions that are subject to these laws and the measure of damages that can be awarded pursuant to them. We will review the difference in how these statutes treat actions by timber harvesters that are considered to be innocent as opposed to those actions that are considered to be willful. We will also discuss issues presented by the application of these statutes related to valuation, boundary disputes, and other related topics.