Dear Don’t Move Firewood,
I am trying to bring oak firewood into New Mexico from Texas. Is there any legal way this is possible?
Yours, Law Abiding Texan
Dear Law Abiding Texan,
The answer to your question is straightforward. If you live in an Imported Fire Ant quarantined county (see map here) within the state of Texas, it is illegal to move firewood that has been stored outside on the ground into the state of New Mexico. Now, if you live in a non-quarantined county (this is some of the Western-most and Northern-most sections of Texas) it would be technically legal, but not a great idea. Moving firewood more than 50 miles is not suggested- the risk that you are moving a pest or pathogen to a new region becomes much greater with each passing mile.
So when would it be both legal and generally permissable to move firewood from Texas to New Mexico? If you lived on a western border county in Texas and were bringing it just to a nearby town in New Mexico. That’d be fine, as it would both be legal (not quarantined) and not too far (within roughly 50 miles).
Sincerely,
Don’t Move Firewood staff
For more information, we suggest:
- Texas State Summary
- New Mexico State Summary
- USDA APHIS Imported Fire Ant General Information Page
- USDA APHIS Imported Fire Ant Map (Map of Lower 48 states or Map of S.E. USA zoomed in)