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Iowa tree thief loses conviction appeal, wants seized property
The northwest Iowa man felled a very old bur oak and dozens of other trees
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A man accused of cutting and stealing more than 50 trees from a public area — including a 175-year-old bur oak — recently lost an appeal of his criminal convictions, according to court records.
Jason Levant Ferguson, 42, of Rolfe in northwest Iowa, was found guilty by a jury in 2023 of felony theft and 50 timber violations. He received a suspended prison sentence, but was ordered to pay about $58,000 in fines and restitution.
Ferguson claimed at trial he did not know he was harvesting trees from public property: the Stoddard Wildlife Management Area in Pocahontas County. He said he had permission to take trees from the area when it was owned by someone else.
Before trial, his attorney made novel arguments to justify the takings, including that it was Ferguson's fundamental right to take trees from public areas to build himself a home and heat it.
The attorney also argued Ferguson was protected by English common law rights that stem from the Charter of the Forest of 1217.
Those arguments failed.
In an appeal of his convictions, Ferguson contended that there was not enough evidence to show when the trees were cut, that he cut them, and that he should have known it was public property.
A three-judge panel of the state's Court of Appeals disagreed in a March decision.
State conservation officers found Ferguson at the wildlife management area in October 2022 after a bow hunter reported "out-of-the-ordinary activity" there, court records show.
Ferguson had chain saws and other logging equipment and agreed to show the officers the large trunk of a bur oak that was visible on his nearby acreage. He also described how difficult it was to transport the trunk out of the wildlife area.
A forestry expert estimated that the oak tree was about 175 years old, and that its value based on its size and importance to wildlife was about $26,000. The expert found that more than 50 maple, ash and elm trees also had been cut down.
When the officers surveyed the large amount of wood that Ferguson had accumulated, they asked him how much came from the public property. He responded, without hesitation according to court records: "Well, all of it."
"After admitting that almost all of the wood at his property came from the state area, a jury could conclude that the state met its burden of proof on all charges involving the harvesting of the trees," the appeals court said.
Court records show Ferguson has not paid any of the fines and restitution he owes.
Despite the failed appeal, Ferguson this month made a request — that he apparently authored and filed himself — for the return of his property that was seized during the theft investigation. He further seeks admonishments of the people who prosecuted him and the restoration of his "rights, status, liberty, and property."
"The consistent disregard of constitutional protections by officers of the State of Iowa — including violations of the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments — constitutes not just misconduct, but a form of systemic insurrection against the Constitution itself," Ferguson wrote.
It's unclear when a district court judge will rule on his requests. The property he seeks returned includes tools, phones, wood, unspecified personal effects and video surveillance recordings.
Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com
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