Month: December 2013

Firewood resolutions for 2014

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Do you want to protect trees and forests from invasive pests this year? Here's a list of resolutions to help you buy and burn firewood the right way.

 

  • First, don’t move firewood. That means use firewood from under 50 miles as a general rule of thumb- although in some places, the rules can be 10 miles or even no movement at all.
  • Instead, buy or cut, and burn, locally cut firewood.
  • If you must move firewood, buy certified heat treated bundled wood
  • If you or someone you know has already moved firewood, burn it completely. Do not take it back, do not leave it. Make sure to pick up and burn any bark that gets knocked off- those little pieces can have hundreds of insect eggs on them!
  • Tell your friends that in 2014, you have resolved not to move firewood

Thanks for everyone’s support this year, and have a Happy New Year!

Why do we talk about Christmas trees and wreaths?

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Christmas trees and general holiday greenery is really different stuff from firewood- so why do we do we put so much effort into getting out the word during the holiday season? Simply put, our year round readers ask us a lot of Christmas tree seasonal type questions, and we’ve decided to “give the people what they want!” Just like firewood, our advice is to buy local, and/or buy from a reputable dealer. Christmas trees are actually a pretty well regulated product, so as long as you are buying from a licensed local business, your potential to accidentally spread pests is very low.

Two new resources as of December 2013:

  • Did you know that you should look for, remove, and leave on site any birds nests you might accidentally find in a ‘wild’ cut Christmas tree? We had a great discussion on the topic on our Facebook account on December 17th, 2013
  • The invasive Balsam Woolly Adelgid doesn’t travel on firewood, but it can travel on contaminated Christmas trees and wreath or garland material. All the more reason to buy from a licensed local business, not a ‘fly by night’ tree dealer on the side of the road. Learn more about the threat of BWA to the Canaan Valley Fir here.

Visit our Holiday Greenery reference page for all current links and resources!

Happy Holiday season, everyone!

A few favorite resources for Firewood

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Ever wondered where Don't Move Firewood gets all its information? It is a mix of help from all the amazing partners we have (thanks, everyone!) and frequently scouring the internet for new ideas and information. Here's a few favorite places that help us think about firewood in the big picture.

 

  • USFS Forest Products Laboratory runs a great blog named Lab Notes. 
  • The EPA has a program named BurnWise that delves deeply into all sorts of wood burning questions.
  • There are a lot of great Twitter accounts useful to forest health education, here's a few handy ones that are updated quite frequently
  •   – @albtweets
  •   – @emeraldashborer
  •   – @foresthealth
  •   – @playcleango

 

Of course, there are a plethora of other websites with information on specific pests, regional issues, and other more specific concerns. But you have to start somewhere!