In North Carolina it is a Class H Felony if the value of the theft is $1,000 and higher.
You probably have photos of the area you marked for your pond, yes? And so any certified arborist should be able to look at those photos, the remaining stumps and surrounding trees, and provide a dollar value to you. And unless it was pure junk it should value over $1K. Moving the theft of property from a misdemeanor to a felony makes a big difference. Although it sounds like the perpetrator has a long line of others he has wronged ahead of you.
