Mystery of old oaks vanishing at Georgia Civil War battlefield ends with man in jail

Trees don’t just vanish into thin air, but that’s exactly what was happening at Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park in northern Georgia, officials say.

One day, the century-old oaks were there, and the next, they were gone, according to the National Park Service.

A park ranger was the first to notice the odd occurrence in September, officials said in a news release.

His six-month investigation came to an end this week when James Darren Scott, 53, accepted a plea deal. He will spend about a year in a Tennessee prison.

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, near the Tennessee state line, preserves the site of an 1863 battle known as the Death Knell of the Confederacy.

“The Confederates were victorious at nearby Chickamauga in September, but renewed fighting in Chattanooga in November gave Union troops final control,” the National Park Foundation says. “Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the nation’s first of its kind, was created in 1890 to preserve and commemorate these battlefields.”

Scott lives in both Bryant, Alabama, and Trenton, Georgia, officials said.

Investigators say the case against him began when a park ranger “noticed an illegal road” and evidence of trees being dragged away.

“Upon further investigation, the ranger noted over a dozen cut trees, including several old-growth oaks,” the National Park Service said. “The ranger installed several live-monitored cellular game cameras and was able to capture a man revisiting the site a few days later.”

Interviews with people in the area, including staff at a sawmill, led to Scott as a suspect, officials said.

“The damage assessment incurred to the public and to the national park remains ongoing,” the park service said.

“It is difficult to put a price tag on trees that are over 100 years old and to offer more than just board feet value to national park visitors. A specialist with the US Department of the Interior estimates Scott’s combined theft and damage to the park is approximately $60,000.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Mystery of old oaks vanishing at Georgia Civil War battlefield ends with man in jail."