Crime
Wreath
rustling is seasonal crime in New England
“Tipping”
is a flourishing cottage industry in Maine, but some are operating illegally
stripping trees bare
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During the festive
season the overwhelming majority of houses in Maine will sport a wreath on the
front door Photo: Alamy
8:07PM
GMT 24 Dec 2014
Demand for Christmas
wreaths has triggered a crime wave in the New England state of Maine.
Forest rangers are
trying to tackle an epidemic of “tipping”, cutting off branches from evergreen
fir trees and selling them to wreath makers.
During the festive
season the overwhelming majority of houses in Maine will sport a wreath on the
front door.
Such is the demand
that selling branches has become a source of income in the poorest part of the
state.
Vast swathes of Maine
are turned over to evergreen forest, largely inhabited by moose and bear.
Tippers swap hints on
social media, making the most of one of the state’s most abundant natural
resources to provide much needed cash.
While some tippers
operate with the permission of the landowner, others do not bother and are
committing a crime.
A tipper can make 50
cents (32 pence) a pound selling the branches to wreath manufacturers.
One legal tipper,
Dennis Figueroa, told the New York Times, that they can earn several hundred
dollars a day from the branches.
Everett Kennedy,
another legal tipper, has even used a drone to find a fresh source of supply.
Others are not so
scrupulous with the branch rustlers start working in late November, lopping off
branches from balsam fir trees.
Somebody with two
prior theft convictions can face jail time if caught engaged in illegal
tipping.
Last year forest
rangers were able to seize 1,400 pounds of illegally rustled branches.
"Over 1,400
pounds in one seizure," Courtney Hammond, a Maine Forest ranger, said:
"Many of our seizures run from 400 to 600 to 700 pounds, but at 40 or 45
cents a pound, people can make very good money at it."
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