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N.H. Obtains First Enhanced Penalty For Logging Violations

Annie Ropeik / NHPR

A logger in Bradford is being ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for repeated violations of the state’s forestry laws.

The so-called enhanced penalty is the first of its kind in New Hampshire.

Under a bill passed in 2011, the Forest Protection Bureau and Attorney General can seek additional financial penalties against individuals with multiple forestry-related convictions during a seven-year period of time.

The fines are calculated based on a point system, with more severe violations earning more points.

State officials say that Michael Carter pled guilty to nine separate offenses between 2013-2015. The Department of Justice petitioned the Merrimack Superior Court in 2018 to order the enhanced penalty. A judge ordered the penalty in October 2019.

The money will be placed in a fund for forest protection. 

As a general assignment reporter, I pursue breaking news as well as investigative pieces across a range of topics. I’m drawn to stories that are big and timely, as well as those that may appear small but tell us something larger about the state we live in. I also love a good tip, a good character, or a story that involves a boat ride.
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