Sec. 09.45.730. - Trespass by cutting or injuring trees or shrubs.
A person who without lawful authority cuts down, girdles, or otherwise injures or removes a tree, timber, or a shrub on (1) the land of another person or on the street or highway in front of a person's house, or (2) a village or municipal lot, or cultivated grounds, or the commons or public land of a village or municipality, or (3) the street or highway in front of land described in (2) of this section, is liable to the owner of that land, or to the village or municipality for treble the amount of damages that may be assessed in a civil action. However, if the trespass was unintentional or involuntary, or the defendant had probable cause to believe that the land on which the trespass was committed was the defendant's own or that of the person in whose service or by whose direction the act was done, or where the timber was taken from unenclosed woodland for the purpose of repairing a public highway or bridge on or adjoining the land, only actual damages may be recovered.