(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Tree thief ordered to pay $33K restitution [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2024-02
A northwest Iowa man convicted of felling one of the oldest oak trees in the state must pay tens of thousands of dollars of restitution for the tree and to replace dozens of others in a public wildlife area, according to court records.
A jury found Jason Levant Ferguson, 41, of Rolfe, guilty of felony theft and 50 timber violations late last year.
He illegally cut down and stole trees from the Stoddard Wildlife Management Area in Pocahontas County, including a bur oak that was estimated to be about 175 years old.
The tree — at about 95 feet tall and six feet wide at its base — was thought to be about the size of the state record bur oak and was still growing.
Ferguson had planned to use the trees to build a house and for firewood, court records show.
Although Ferguson faced many years in prison for the crimes, a judge sentenced him to probation last month and fined him about $25,000.
In a subsequent order, the judge recently ordered Ferguson to pay an additional $33,000 for restitution. About $25,500 of that amount is meant to compensate the state for the oak tree, and about $7,700 will pay for the replanting of 55 trees in the wildlife area.
Ferguson’s attorney did not respond to a request to comment for this article. The attorney had argued in various ways that Ferguson was entitled to harvest trees from public property for his basic survival needs.
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