Rockbridge County Man Sentenced for Unlawfully Harvesting Timber from National Forests

ROANOKE, Va. - A Rockbridge County, Virginia man convicted of unlawfully damaging trees and removing timber from a national forest was sentenced yesterday to 30 days in jail.

Matthew Keith Miller, 35, was previously tried in federal court on October 9, 2025, and convicted of both offenses.

According to evidence presented at previous court hearings, on January 18, 2025, an anonymous complainant advised the U.S. Forest Service that they observed several downed locust trees in a restricted area around Petites Gap Road, within Rockbridge County. The complainant provided a picture of a truck that was being used to remove the wood, which the Forest Service traced back to Miller.

Miller admitted that he had removed trees from Petites Gap Road that day, but he claimed that he had a wood cutting permit and only took dead timber. However, Miller's wood cutting permit explicitly restricted timber harvesting in the Petites Gap Road area.

A Forest Service officer inspected the location where Miller removed timber and found many live trees had been cut down. Miller also made multiple postings on Facebook Marketplace advertising the sale of large amounts of locust timber.

Acting U.S. Attorney Robert N. Tracci made the announcement.

The U.S. Forest Service Investigations investigated the case.