Illegal Logging!

I would not consider myself an expert on the subject of illegal logging but recently I have received a few questions on this. I suppose, with the amendment of the Lacy Act last year, there has been some interest generated. The flooring industry in the United States and Canada, more so than other construction trades, have been actively involved in reforestation for many years. Makes sense, if you cut trees you need to replace them or you have no more trees to cut. Pretty simple. But it comes with a cost. It takes money to be environmentally conscious. Try explaining that to a customer who has the opportunity to get a nice exotic imported wood floor for less than the price of good old American Oak. Illegal lumber! It has really become a big deal over the last 15 years or so. In places like Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia, The Amazon, Cambodia and Africa. If you are really interested just Google "Illegal Logging" and you will get many thousands of articles on the subject.
Illegal and predatory logging plays a central role in the destruction of the Amazon and other areas. It is now generally accepted that illegal logging is the norm rather than the exception in the Brazilian Amazon and Indonesia as well as many other places. Between 60 and 80 percent of all logging in the Brazilian Amazon is estimated to be illegal. Working in remote forest areas, the loggers often use false permits, ignore limitations of legal permits, cut species protected by law and steal from protected areas and indigenous lands. These are often small or medium scale operations that are able to avoid detection because of the remoteness of the logging locations, the weak presence of the federal environmental agency and a complex chain-of-custody in the cutting, hauling and transporting of the logs.
With the depletion of forests in Southeast Asia and central Africa, the Amazon is being targeted by domestic and transnational corporations as a key source for tropical timber products. Huge majestic trees like the Samauma, also known as the "Queen of the Forest", are being exploited to make cheap plywood and wood flooring for construction industries in the US, Japan and Europe. Because of the poor economic climate in many of the countries involved, the illegal loggers are able to both strong-arm and bribe their way around the laws.
That was a big long way to say that the illegal lumber is working its way into the U.S. and has been sold very inexpensively. Last year (2008) many groups lobbied Congress to do something about this problem. December 15, 2008, The Lacy Act of 1900 was amended to include illegal lumber and strengthen enforcement and penalties. Hopefully this will start to put a stop to this. We shall see? Sorry this was so long.