Join us for the first FOCI webinar of the fall, Forest and Firewood National Polling Results, on October 18th, 2016 at 1pm Eastern. Learn about how awareness of forest pests has changed over time, what slogans are best understood by the public, where the gaps might be in our outreach efforts, who is the most trusted messenger in the USA when it comes to forest issues, and so much more.
Click here to view the webinar recording on the Don't Move Firewood YouTube channel
The Don’t Move Firewood and Hungry Pests campaigns are excited to co-launch the first ever Firewood Awareness Month during October 2016!
THIS BLOG IS OUT OF DATE: Please visit our Firewood Month Toolkit page to get the latest Firewood Month information!
Are you planning a road trip for the long weekend? Remember, your firewood choices matter. You’ve got three great options- buy it where you’ll burn it, buy certified heat treated firewood, or gather firewood on site when permitted. And here’s a few other ideas from over here at Don’t Move Firewood!
Here is our very popular Invasive Species Bug Mask collection, just in time for your Halloween preparations! We have both line-drawn versions for coloring in, and pre-colored in with simple bright colors according to the actual true look of the insect. Our masks are great because they meld biologically accurate information with a fun and cartoon-like appearance. They are perfect for your invasive species lesson plan, ecological role playing, and more- whether for Halloween, Earth Day, or any other day!
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(left to right: spongy moth, goldspotted oak borer, Asian longhorned beetle, walnut twig beetle, and emerald ash borer)
Use the following links to also find all the pre-colored masks in FRENCH for use in Canada or any other need: spongy moth, Asian longhorned beetle, walnut twig beetle, and emerald ash borer)
Click on any image to take you to that file; choose either a pre-colored invasive insect mask, its corresponding line-drawn bug mask, or download both masks for a given species for whatever uses you might have. Please note that the spongy moth mask comes in male and female moth forms (2 pages, only male moth is shown in the image preview) and the Asian longhorned beetle mask comes with a separate page to print the long antennae.
To help you select a mask that applies well to the trees and issues where you live and work, below we’ve suggested two or three species for of the USA’s and Canada’s basic regions. However, these are just suggestions, so feel free to use any and all insects if you’d like. Enjoy!
Northeastern USA, Mid Atlantic USA, and Eastern Canada
Great Lakes USA and Central Canada
Midwestern USA and Great Plains USA
Interior Western USA
Southwestern USA
Pacific Northwestern USA and Western Canada
Southeastern US
August is Tree Check Month! Everyone is encouraged to take 10 minutes to check their trees for signs of the Asian longhorned beetle. To help you learn about the beetle, or to provide materials for your outreach needs, we've rounded up all the best free resources that we could find!
Infographics and Handouts:
Fun Outreach Items for Kids:
Social Media Tips:
Educational Videos:
Blogs and News Releases:
General Information:
The Don't Move Firewood website is slated to undergo a major renovation very soon, and we need your help. If you are someone with any sort of professional or volunteer experience in tree, forest, invasive species, or firewood related topics, we are looking for your input via our survey!
Examples of who should take our survey:
As you can see, this is a very varied list. The basic idea is that if you would ever use the Don't Move Firewood website for any reason in your work (or volunteer) life, this survey is for you!
EDITED 7/25/2016 – OUR SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED! Thank you to the many forest, firewood, and tree professionals that took their time to contribute to this effort.
Thanks!
Dear Don't Move Firewood,
I bought firewood from a grocery store in the Seattle area and when I cut it to make some kindling BEETLES came out of it! What should I do to let someone know? The wood came from (a distributor out of state) and they should be ashamed of themselves for selling infested wood!!!
Yours,
Concerned Kindling Cutter
Dear Kindling Cutter,
I agree that is disturbing, and that you should report it. I suggest looking up the Washington Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection Division, and calling them to ask for help. Most states have a Plant Protection staff person within their Department of Agriculture that is able to assist on these things. In your case the the contact list for the Washington Department of Agriculture is online here– I suggest trying the "PLANT PROTECTION General Information" number as your starting point.
If that doesn't work, you can also call the USDA APHIS State Plant Health Director's office for your state if you are having trouble with reaching someone at the local Department of Agriculture. Thank you for your attention to firewood safety!
Dear Don’t Move Firewood,
I live in Albuquerque New Mexico and was planning to make a trip to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. What if any, are the restrictions for moving a pickup load of Hickory, Oak, Cherry and Apple back to NM with me when I return? Does this require any special permit? I plan to use the wood for heat and smoking meat.
Yours,
Barbecue Lover
Dear Barbecue Lover,
Thank you for asking, as the answer to this is quite clear. It is illegal to move a truckload of cut loose firewood from Pennsylvania to New Mexico due to multiple federal quarantines pertaining to firewood and forest pests. There is no permit process that I know of for personal use firewood to be moved over this great of a distance, and across the two federal quarantine boundary areas. I would urge you not to take this firewood back to New Mexico for both legal, and ecological, reasons. I hope that instead, you can find a good local source of firewood within the state of New Mexico for your needs! —
The two most obvious quarantines you would be violating are:
– Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine or General Information
– European Gypsy Moth Quarantine or General Information
In conclusion- there are significant restrictions and you’d be violating the law, so you should not move firewood from PA to NM. Thank you!
Texas and Nebraska both announced that they’ve confirmed emerald ash borer in their states in the last month. Whenever a state discovers a high profile pest that can be transported by firewood within their boundaries, we here at Don’t Move Firewood like to remind them that we are here to serve their needs!
Here is a list of ideas for Texas, Nebraska, and any other state actively reaching out to the public on the topic of invasive pests and pathogens that move on firewood.
Most of all, send us an email. The Don’t Move Firewood staff are here and eager to help. Good luck!
Guest blog by Piera Siegert, State Entomologist, New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food
The forests of New Hampshire are an intrinsic part of the landscape, economy, and culture of northern New England. New Hampshire is the second most-densely forested state in the nation, with 84% of the land covered by trees. Many residents make or supplement their incomes through forest products or forest-based tourism, including recreation, timber and firewood sales, and maple syrup production. Many New Hampshire homes are heated primarily or secondarily with wood products. Wood chips from low-grade pulp are heating more homes and businesses and producing more electricity than ever before. The Granite State’s vibrant tourism economy thrives on those who come to enjoy our great forested outdoors – campers, hunters, skiers, hikers, and “leaf peepers” who relish the autumnal color backdrop to colonial buildings and steepled churches tucked throughout the state’s varied landscapes.
Consequently, the threat posed by invasive insects hitchhiking in firewood to New Hampshire’s economy and treasured working landscapes elevate the urgency of enlisting broader support for outreach about the risks associated with moving firewood. That’s the reason we are partnering with Don’t Move Firewood to promote “buy it where you burn it” principles. Recognizing that the tone of this outreach is critical to success, we emphasize that firewood rules are not about limiting the use of firewood, but rather the proper sourcing of firewood used in the state.
New Hampshire has out-of-state firewood restrictions – first affecting state parks (2009), then later the entire state (2011). An established emerald ash borer infestation in Concord was found shortly thereafter (2013) and, based on its location and other anecdotal evidence, all signs suggest the likely culprit to be infested out-of-state firewood transported into the state during the late 2000s. In 2015, several state agencies formed a working group to increase interagency cooperation and extend the reach of firewood transportation messaging. Participating agencies include the Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Dept. of Resources and Economic Development, Dept. of Fish and Game, Dept. of Safety, Dept. of Transportation, and University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. We have been awarded Farm Bill 10007 funding for outreach projects targeting recreational transporters of firewood (2015 and 2016), have worked with Don’t Move Firewood to develop outreach materials, and recently joined Firewood Scout to help visitors connect to the state’s many local vendors of campfire wood.
We are excited about several new firewood-related projects in New Hampshire:
Messaging at the Farm and Forest Expo, Manchester, NH, January 22-23 2016. Multiple cooperating state agencies presented information about use and transportation of firewood. The artificial campfire under the Don’t Move Firewood aluminum road sign (above); Smokey Bear warming his hands at the artificial campfire (below).
You can access the digital versions of New Hampshire’s Don’t Move Firewood materials here: