CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — "Make it worth your while."
That's what a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer told loggers after asking them to work on protected, state-owned land.
It led to dozens of mature oak trees — some over 100 years old — being cut down on the Cheatham Wildlife Management Area without a contract — at a time when timber sales were on hold.
Pictures show 77 stumps on the property, which are all that remain of the large and valuable trees.
Jason Maxedon, the executive director of the TWRA, said it should never have happened.
"That's a lot of trees, and the fact they were veneer white oak, which are actually a high-value tree, it upsets me," Maxedon said.
The 20,000-acre Cheatham Wildlife Management Area has hiking trails and hunting areas and is managed by the TWRA.
A logger cut down the trees on a remote part of the property last fall. TWRA initially thought it was timber theft.
"We were at a standstill on being able to sell timber," Maxedon said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates followed, "So it was a surprise timber was being cut."
"Yes, sir. That is correct," Maxedon said.
TWRA's internal investigation pointed to one of the agency's own employees: area manager Eric Tummins. A supervisor had told him to hire someone to remove storm-damaged trees from the property.
"He got a logger to come on and do this. And he said, 'go ahead and make it worth your while' to get the trees removed off the area," Maxedon said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "Make it worth your while, what do you think of that?"
"That's not what we want our folks saying to somebody. Obviously, he should have had a contract in place before he even started this," Maxedon said.
Receipts provided by TWRA show loggers James Beck and Billy Beck sold the trees they cut down for around $50,000.
They took the trees to a log yard in Clarksville and a sawmill miles away in Hurricane Mills.
Maxedon said someone called TWRA after noticing the large trees at one of the lumber yards.
They questioned why the trees were cut when timber sales on TWRA property were on hold.
Maxedon said because the Becks had permission to cut down the trees when the manager told them to 'make it worth your while,' the state determined they did nothing wrong and did not have to pay any money back.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates called the Becks who did not respond.
Tummins was suspended for 30 days.
"This employee has since resigned. There was some more disciplinary action we were following up on, and the employee decided to resign as a result," Maxedon said.
The oldest tree cut down was 125 years old. Another was 116 years old. Most were well over 80 years old, according to TWRA.
John McFadden with the Tennessee Environmental Council said white oak trees are valuable to the forest and loggers.
"They have been called the king tree of the forest," McFadden said. "I've seen estimates on white oak trees, big ones like this big tree behind us, that would range from $1,000 to $20,000 per tree."
McFadden hates to hear about slow-growing oak trees cut down in this way, a sentiment shared by the head of TWRA.
"It's just unfortunate. This bothers us all at this agency," Maxedon said.
"If somebody is doing something that they are not supposed to be doing, something like this, we will deliver the discipline that is required," Maxedon said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates attempted to contact Tummins, but he has not responded.
White oak trees have become even more valuable because the wood is used to make whiskey barrels.
Recently rangers at the Cherokee National Forrest said they were dealing with people going onto the property to cut down the trees for that purpose.
