Wash state: 'Ax Men' crew salvaged logs illegally

[ebrunn 10+ year member]

Wash state: 'Ax Men' crew salvaged logs illegally

By PHUONG LE, Associated Press Writer Fri Mar 13, 9:42 PM PDT

Washington state's Department of Natural Resources on Friday seized more than two dozen logs it says were illegally salvaged by a timber crew featured on the History Channel's reality show "Ax Men."

DNR officers served a search warrant on S&S Aqua Logging to retrieve timber the company had pulled from the Hoquiam River without a permit, said Larry Raedel, the agency's chief enforcement officer.

Officers were tipped off after watching the popular series, 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 sediment, harboring insects and other food for fish, and creating pools and riffles where fish can rest, said Greg Hueckel, fish and wildlife habitat programs director.

"They are part of the functioning ecosystem, so removing the log would be like removing part of the bed," he said.

Hueckel said his agency typically grants permits to remove logs in situations where flooding causes log jams. It's unlikely that a permit would be granted for timber 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 search warrant records.

When "Ax Men" debuted last year, it became the History Channel's most popular series with more than 2 million weekly viewers. This season began airing March 2 and features two timber crews from Washington, two from Oregon and one from Montana.

In one video posted on the show'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 do extraordinary things," he said.

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//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif God dam* red necks

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[goingdef 10+ year member]

are these the guys that dive for hundred year old logs for violin wood and what no

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

are these the guys that dive for hundred year old logs for violin wood and what not

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

are these the guys that dive for hundred year old logs for violin wood and what not

 

[ebrunn 10+ year member]

No, it was just two idiots trying to get this log out of a river with nylon rope and a generator powered winch. They ran out of gas in the process and had to ask the film crew to go get more for them.

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

**** sorry for the triple post

 

[GreenBook 10+ year member]

Those are the same idiots that in this seasons first episode crashed their log-barge into a shallow bridge.

 

[Blue Fury 10+ year member]

Well I guess it's a good thing that the whole thing was documented and filmed, otherwise less of us would care.

 

[HellsRise 10+ year member]

In the first episode he comments how they are the first ones in America to do that kind of logging. Then again, from that first episode you can see how big of dumbshits they really are (towing the barge to its location, running it into a bridge, etc) so it's not really surprising that this happened.

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

Lock them up. This planet need to breath. and those trees provide that, plus they filter out all the crap that we put into the air. Tell them bches to recycle and use recyled products. And since they cant seem to grasp the concept of permits and zoning laws, Ban them from those areas.

And as for that Dad and son on the river trying to get that log, I would have kicked my dads ass for acting that ignorant and arogant. I sht on him if he treated me that way.