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.
