Man disputes illegal harvesting citation

Officials say he was taking wood from park

The Nov. 16 scene at Wilson Creek Beach, where park rangers suspect furniture maker John Lovell was harvesting redwood illegally. Photo courtesy of National Park Service

On Nov. 16, Lovell, a Colorado-based furniture maker, was issued citations related to allegedly harvesting redwood illegally from the beach, park officials said. The following day U.S. Park Rangers and other authorities served a search warrant at redwood furniture store All Ways Redwood, near the harbor, seizing 22 redwood planks and Lovell’s portable mill saw.

“The major concern is that he’s taking resources that belong to the American people and the people of California, and he’s profiting off of the theft of resources,” said U.S. Park Ranger Dave Keltner.

Park Rangers had been on the lookout for a red van after receiving several reports of suspicious wood harvesting in the area. Park rangers spotted Lovell’s red van at Wilson Creek beach, then found him ready to make his first cut. The rangers also found logs previously cut at the beach and suspected Lovell of the illegal harvesting, Keltner said.

The evidence of wood harvesting at the beach was done by someone else, Lovell said, and  the previous cutting supported his thought that it was a legal spot.

Lovell said he’s been collecting redwood from the North Coast and Oregon since 1969, and he always tries to obey the law. He thought Wilson Creek Beach was outside of state and national parks lines since there was no sign designating the area, and his GPS showed that the beach is outside of the parks, Lovell said. 

There are two signs that read Redwood National and State Parks at the beach pullout where Lovell was parked, Keltner said.

“There are plenty of places on the beaches where it’s legal to cut and harvest,” Lovell said. “Why would I put my saw and my freedom in jeopardy if I didn’t think it was a legal harvest?”

The official charges state that Lovell was allegedly operating a business without a permit within national parks and collecting national features within national parks, Keltner said.

Each citation carries a maximum sentence of a $5,000 fine or six months jail time, Keltner said. Lovell has a mandatory appearance in federal court, which has not been scheduled yet.

The seized desktop-shaped planks of redwood, each three inches thick, around 5 feet by 3 feet, are worth at least $3,300 altogether, Keltner said. Lovell’s portable Alaskan saw mill is worth $4,500, Lovell said. 

The seized wood appeared to match the redwood logs that remained on Wilson Creek Beach, Keltner said. In similar cases, park officials might bring the slabs to the harvesting site to see if they match, Keltner said.

Lovell said the confiscated redwood actually belongs to Stan Richardson, owner of All Ways Redwood. Lovell and his employee cut the wood for Richardson, but they did not harvest it — nor any other wood from Del Norte County during this trip, Lovell said.

Lovell, who was trained by famous woodworker George Nakashima, produces hand-crafted furniture for stores in Denver, he said.

“I’m a humble table-maker. That’s all I am,” Lovell said.

In over 40 years of harvesting wood form the Pacific Northwest, Lovell has only run into issues in Del Norte County, he said.

In the summer of 2010, park officials warned Lovell that he was illegally harvesting wood within park boundaries near Crescent Beach, Keltner said.  He was told to leave more than a hundred redwood roots he had collected, Keltner said.

“He was warned and told not to ever do it again,” Keltner said.

Lovell claims that he never took any wood south of the sign on Crescent Beach that marks the park boundary.

Wood can be cut and collected from South Beach, but only during December, January and February.  Cutting and collecting wood is allowed on North Beach year round, but both beaches require a vehicle permit obtained from the county to drive on the beaches.

Within state and national parks, 50 pounds of wood can be collected per person per day but not for commercial use and not using any machinery, Keltner said.

Problems with illegal harvesting is “relatively uncommon,” Keltner said. “Most local residents understand the rules of national and state park lands around here. We get along with the locals real well.”

Commercial harvesting on park land is more of problem in the Orick area, Keltner said.

Regarding the case with Lovell,  Keltner said, “The government is looking forward to court.”