Man fined $2700 for illegally collecting over 50 tonnes of firewood from private property near Denmark

A man has been fined for illegally taking 50 tonnes of firewood from a property near Denmark amid an increase in illegal firewood collection in the region. The man received a total of $2700 in fines from the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions for collecting the big amount of firewood and an additional 70 slabs of milled timber. DBCA regional wildlife officer for the Warren region Ian Wheeler said the man avoided criminal prosecution and received a $2500 fine for taking flora on private land without authority and two $200 fines for unlawful vehicle use by making vehicle tracks or driving off-road to access the property. “It’s illegal to sell firewood without authority,” he said. “And so if you’re caught selling firewood, it’s called supplying flora without a licence, it carries a $2500 infringement.” Mr Wheeler said the man was “caught in the act” of removing firewood from private property by DBCA rangers after a member of the public reported the man felling trees on the property. It is believed the man had also been collecting firewood from land protected by the 1984 Conservation and Land Management Act. The man’s chainsaw was seized and a seizure notice was put on the illegally collected firewood which he had stored at his home. Mr Wheeler said he believed the amount of wood the man had taken made the seizure one of the biggest ever in the region and he would have bee collected over several months, but it was unclear whether the wood was for his own use or for sale. The seizure of the wood comes amid what Mr Wheeler described as a “huge” issue of people illegally collecting firewood from unauthorised areas around Denmark, Albany, Mt Barker and Walpole and selling it on Facebook Marketplace. “...A lot of it’s being illegally sourced from national parks and shire reserves, water authority land, and also the private plantation industries to the north of Albany, east of Mt Barker, are copping a huge hammering,” he said. “I know they’re suffering big time with wood being stolen off their property. “WA Police are interested in assisting with this as well — if people are caught trespassing on private land, they can be prosecuted. “And if (DBCA) catch them removing flora or selling flora they can attract some infringements as well.” Mr Wheeler said people wanting to buy firewood from a seller on Facebook Marketplace should ask them if they have a licence to sell it or check if they are listed as an authorised seller through the Forest Products Commission website. “Many of the people selling firewood on Facebook may have sourced the wood illegally, or, there’s a caveat on that, they may be sourcing wood from private land and not understanding that they need to have a private property suppliers licence to do that,” he said. “So even if you’re selling firewood off your own property, or getting it off a mate’s property with their approval, you still have to have a private property suppliers licence to be able to sell that wood legally.”