PHITSANULOK – Forestry officers have inspected the Pa Suan Miang reserved forest area in Chat Trakan district, Phitsanulok, after reports of illegal tree clearing. About two weeks after the alleged activity, the site was found heavily damaged, with many trees uprooted and cut into logs. Local officials believe the clearing was done to expand land for farming.
Thirapol Kanjanagomol, head of a special operations team under the Forest Resource Management Office in Phitsanulok, told reporters officers received a tip-off that an excavator had been used to dig out and fell trees inside the national reserved forest at Village 3, Tha Sakae sub-district, Chat Trakan. The report also mentioned chainsaws being used to cut the timber into sections.
On December 25th, the team coordinated with related agencies and entered the area to check the situation.
Trees uprooted, then cut into sections
The inspection involved multiple units, including forest protection staff, specialist forestry teams, officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, patrol and enforcement teams, forest police, border patrol police, local administration officers, and the village head.
At the site, officers found felled trees scattered across the ground. The evidence suggested heavy machinery had pushed the trees over by the roots, after which the wood was cut into lengths using a chainsaw. Officers estimated the felling had happened around two weeks earlier, as the timber had already started to dry out.
On the western side, they also found land showing signs of agricultural use, along with a barbed-wire fence around a plot. The fence appeared to have been repaired using wood from the cleared area, raising concerns that the same person may have expanded the encroachment further into the forest.
No suspect was found at the scene during the inspection, and no one came forward to give information. Officers recorded the boundaries of the affected plot at 5-2-33 rai. A check of aerial photographs indicated the area had previously been a healthy, natural forest.
Naturally grown forest trees
The timber found at the site included pradu, teng, and rok fa. Officers stated these are not the types of trees that people usually plant, and the findings supported that they were naturally grown forest trees rather than cultivated timber. A total of 57 logs were marked and seized, with a recorded volume of 28.372 cubic metres.
A report was filed under relevant forestry laws, including offences linked to felling protected timber without permission, possessing unprocessed protected timber without permission, and causing damage to a national reserved forest area.
The case was handed to investigators at Chat Trakan Police Station to identify and prosecute those responsible, and to pursue liability for damages as set out in the law.
Boonmee Senanuch, the village head of Village 3 in Tha Sakae, said the farmland next to the cleared plot is held and farmed by a resident identified as Mrs Thongdee (surname withheld), also from Village 3.
