WASHINGTON, D.C. – From June 22-25, 2021, the Forest Service co-led four days of virtual training on illegal logging and trade for sub-Saharan professionals. This interagency training reflects a strong partnership between the Forest Service, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to reduce illegal logging globally and work cooperatively with source countries to prevent illegal wood entering the United States. Forest Service coordination and participation was funded by the Department of State and implemented by the Forest Service International Programs office.

This virtual workshop was coordinated by the State Department’s International Law Enforcement Academy in Gaborone, Botswana. Forty-four participants attended the ILEA course, hailing from the countries of Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia and Republic of Congo. The cadre of instructors and participants were both interagency and interdisciplinary, reflecting the complexity of forest crime issues.

Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Andrew Larson and Senior Special agent Mark Burgeson served as instructors for the course, along with Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Erica Pencak, Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Special Agent Kyle Maher, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.

Course participants included a variety of professions, from forestry rangers, protected area managers and customs and border patrol officials to law enforcement, prosecutors and magistrates. Instructional topics covered the typology of forest crime and investigation methods; coordination between investigators, prosecutors, and judges; evidence processing and interviewing; international statutes; international financial investigations; customs and border enforcement; and successful prosecution strategies. This virtual training combined traditional lectures with interactive modules and practical exercises throughout the curriculum.

These trainings are part of a global effort by the Forest Service to share our expertise in effective forest crime enforcement. Future trainings focused on combating illegal logging and trafficking will be held at ILEA Gaborone in November 2021.