A Gooderham man is in trouble for illegally harvesting trees in Highlands East. Joseph Billings was charged with unlawfully harvesting timer in a Crown forest in the Monmouth Township area between November 1st of 2016 and April 1st of last year. He pleaded guilty t0o the charge under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act.
Court heard that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry investigated the area and it was determined that 55 trees were harvested but Billings did not have the required forest resource licence. The case was heard in a Lindsay courtroom on May 14th. Aside from a $4,000 fine, the M.N.R.F. says the monetary value of the wood sold to a mill was recovered from Billings.
The M.N.R.F. says if you want to report a natural resources violation, you can call its tips line at 1-877-847-7667. The ministry also has an interactive map that pinpoints the locations of unsolved and you can see that map here.