ROLLA, Mo – Tree DNA has helped solve a 2019 cold case within Mark Twain National Forest, marking the first instance of tree DNA being used to resolve a case of illegal tree harvesting in MTNF.

Timber theft remains a prevalent crime on public lands. In October 2019, witnesses alerted a law enforcement officer to a potential illegal harvest in the forest near Siloam Springs, Mo. Upon discovering eight freshly cut black walnut stumps at the site, a Forest Service special agent was assigned to investigate the case.

The agent proceeded to search a nearby hardwood lumber mill, where he identified one log with dimensions matching those of one of the stumps. An off-cut from the end of the suspect log exhibited a near-perfect fit to one of the freshly cut stumps at the theft site.

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To establish that the stump and log indeed originated from the same tree, the special agent reached out to Richard Cronn, a USDA Forest Service research geneticist based in Oregon, known for his work in forest tree genetics and the pioneering use of tree DNA in illegal logging investigations.

“Coincidentally, our lab was in the process of developing a DNA test to identify individual black walnut trees at the Forest Service’s Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center,” Cronn stated. “Given the immense interest in selectively breeding black walnut to enhance the tree’s growth characteristics, we were well-equipped to swiftly address this request.”

Cronn’s laboratory evaluated the stump and log samples using the newly developed test, revealing identical results across 80 genetic markers—a clear genetic match.

“With any DNA forensic test, it’s crucial to address the likelihood of two random trees displaying the same DNA profile. We tackle this by utilizing a DNA database,” Cronn explained.

For Missouri black walnut, this DNA database was constructed by Forest Service law enforcement and timber staff in collaboration with Adventure Scientists, a citizen-science volunteer organization.

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Volunteers from the group collected leaf and wood samples spanning the species’ range, which Forest Service geneticists then analyzed to determine the “DNA profile probability”—the probability that two random walnut trees would share the same DNA fingerprint.

Leveraging this database, the research team concluded that the DNA profile probability for the illegally felled tree was less than one in a million-trillion-trillion. The amalgamation of physical evidence and DNA testing provided incontrovertible proof.

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In July 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to one felony count of stealing of Government property (18 U.S.C. § 1361) and received a sentence of five months of time served, a 3-year supervised release, and restitution for the value of timber and ecological damage to the forest.

Black walnut stands as one of the largest and longest-lived hardwood tree species within Mark Twain’s 1.5 million acres.

Its wood, highly coveted for veneers and furniture, renders it an attractive target for timber poaching across federal and neighboring lands in Missouri and adjacent states.

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