The first U.S. court case to use tree DNA as evidence helped convict Justin Andrew Wilke for his role in cutting and selling figured maple from Olympic National Forest. A Forest Service geneticist testified that DNA from lumber sold by the defendants matched the remains of three felled trees, with prosecutors citing a false-match probability of one in an "undecillion." The case highlights how tree genetics can link specific timber to its source and strengthen prosecutions of wood theft.
How Tree DNA Helped Convict a Maple Poacher — The First U.S. Court Case Using Wood Genetics
A Lumber Poacher Has Been Foiled—By Tree DNAiiievgeniy - Getty Images
Investigators used genetic analysis to link lumber sold by poachers to specific maple trees cut from Olympic National Forest — marking the first time tree DNA was introduced as evidence in a U.S. courtroom to help convict a timber thief.
The Case
Federal prosecutors say Justin Andrew Wilke was convicted in July 2021 on multiple counts, including conspiracy, theft and depredation of public property, and trafficking in unlawfully harvested timber, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. Wilke and a co-conspirator, Shawn Edward Williams, are accused of cutting protected bigleaf maple trees in the summer of 2018, sawing them into rounds to transport, and selling the wood with forged paperwork. Wilke was later sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role in the scheme.
Why Figured Maple Is Valuable
Some maple trees develop distinctive grain patterns called "figuring" that are prized by instrument makers and woodworkers. Figured maples can become guitar backs, clarinet components, piano parts and other high-value items; that demand helps explain why thieves target particular large, patterned trees in national forests.
“[Washington’s] Olympic National Forest is known for its towering, lush, and wide-trunked trees,” The Washington Post reported. “The bigleaf maple is among the more prized inhabitants—its patterned wood is often coveted for woodworking and manufacturing musical instruments.”
How Tree DNA Was Used
Richard Cronn, a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, testified that DNA extracted from lumber the defendants sold matched the remains of three specific trees felled in the forest. Prosecutors reported the probability of a false positive match as one in an "undecillion" (a one followed by 36 zeros). The evidence rests on the same biological principle used for animal and human forensics: each organism's cells contain unique genetic information.
Trees are especially suitable for genetic identification because there are tens of thousands of tree species worldwide — each with distinct genetic markers — and many species, including maples, show enough genetic variation between individuals to allow for strong statistical matches. Forest theft imposes broad costs: courts cited damages and lost work time from national-forest thefts totaling roughly $100 million per year.
Significance
This case demonstrates a new forensic tool for protecting public lands and deterring timber theft. As genetic methods improve, DNA-based identification of wood may become more common in prosecutions and in efforts to verify the legal origin of high-value timber.
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