Reality TV is something most people enjoy but one thing about it is that they are actually happening in real time. While many would think that such actions were part of the acts, Ax Men may be paying more for this crucial act of environmentalism.

Washington state’s Department of Natural Resources on Friday seized more than two dozen logs it says were illegally salvaged by a timber crew featured on the History Channel’s reality show “Ax Men.”

DNR officers served a search warrant on S&S Aqua Logging to retrieve timber the company had pulled from the Hoquiam River without a permit, said Larry Raedel, the agency’s chief enforcement officer.

Officers were tipped off after watching the popular series, which chronicles the lives of Pacific Northwest timber cutters, including a father-son team from Aberdeen-based S&S Aqua Logging.

“They are part of the functioning ecosystem, so removing the log would be like removing part of the bed,” he said.

Hueckel said his agency typically grants permits to remove logs in situations where flooding causes log jams. It’s unlikely that a permit would be granted for timber harvest, he said.

Jimmy Smith, who owns and operates S&S Aqua Logging, said on the show that the logs were worth about $10,000, according to search warrant records.

When “Ax Men” debuted last year, it became the History Channel’s most popular series with more than 2 million weekly viewers. This season began airing March 2 and features two timber crews from Washington, two from Oregon and one from Montana.

(Source) Associated Press