United States v. Maynard Charles Campbell, Jr.

Maynard C. Campbell appeals his felony convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 (theft of government property) and 1361 (depredation against government property). Campbell harvested and sold federal timber taken from Forest Service land, and constructed berms on Forest Service roads, without authorization. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

This appeal concerns events that occurred on an unpatented mining claim known as the Red Poffrei Extension (“the Extension”), located within the Klamath National Forest. In 1988, Eileen Kunkel owned the Extension. Her late husband, James, had located the Extension in 1952. She also owned a patented mining claim known as Red Poffrei, on land adjacent to the Extension. In 1988, she met the appellant, Maynard Campbell, and the two began mining the Extension the following year. At that time, Campbell had about ten years’ experience as a prospector-miner.

In February and March of 1991, Campbell and Kunkel sent notices of intent to the Forest Service pledging that mining activity on the Extension would cover no more than half an acre and would involve no substantial surface disturbances. They referred the…