The New York Times has an article today about the prevalence of timber threat in the U.S. The article quotes, "The total value of the American log-export market has more than doubled since 2000, industry experts said, and it continues to grow."
This growth, in turn, is encouraging a new breed of tree hugger -- thieves who chop down timber illegally. It's not as severe as tree cribbing in countries like Indonesia and Brazil facing huge deforestation.
Historically, large investment funds like the Harvard Endowment have made large investments into timber (legally). In 2004, Harvard purchased a 468,000-acre New Zealand forest -- then estimated to be worth $540 million.

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