Author: Leigh Greenwood

Dear Don’t Move Firewood from Wisconsin

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

An alert citizen in Wisconsin posted a great question to Don’t Move Firewood today;

Dear Don’t Move Firewood,

I own a farm in (town removed) Wisconsin and 40 acres of wood was blown down in the July storms. I would like to bring the oak to my home in (town removed) Minnesota to burn, is that alright to do?

Yours,

Dan from Minnesota

Dear Dan,

I hate to tell you, but this is a really bad idea on a two levels.

Most importantly in terms of a simple answer, it is often illegal to move hardwood firewood across state and county lines in this particular region of the country. I can’t give you any firm legal advice because I don’t know the route you’d take, and I’d hate to get you in trouble if I was wrong, but I must say this really puts you at a serious potential liability.

Secondly, this isn’t a good idea because your farm is in the midst of a great sea of potential invaders. You probably know that oaks don’t carry emerald ash borer (if they did, we’d name them emerald oak borer) but there are several species of both native and invasive insects in the midwest that do infest and kill oaks. Your worst nightmare is taking this wood from your place in Wisconsin- where unbeknownst to you it had some serious insect infestation- and bringing that infestation to Minnesota where it will destroy your trees, your property value, and potentially (eventually) all the trees for hundreds of miles.

I know this sounds apocalyptic, but it isn’t outlandish. It happens all the time with other pests, and of course nobody would ever do this on purpose.

A much better thing to do is to use the wood on site in Wisconsin, or give it to neighboring residents or farms that are less than 10 miles away. You could take it as an opportunity to help the less fortunate, if you can donate the wood to a neighbor that really needs it.

Thanks for asking, and I’m sorry the answer is no- but like I said, it really puts you at risk to move that wood!

Firewood law passes in Oregon

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Congratulations to the smart folks that worked tirelessly to pass a firewood preventative measure in Oregon! Starting in a little over a year, firewood that is sold in Oregon will need to either be from a neighboring state, or kiln (high heat) dryed and labeled. Here at Don’t Move Firewood, we think this is a great step forward to protect the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and we’ll be working to spread the word about this law- and any information how the preparation for implementation goes in 2012- as we learn more!

To learn more, visit the Oregon Laws site: https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/570.720 

 

 

Regulations in Tennessee

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Sometimes, even the experts at Dear Don’t Move Firewood don’t have all the answers. Here’s our latest inquiry, with a guest answer from Tim Phelps at the Tennessee Division of Forestry.

Dear Don’t Move Firewood,

I understand that we should not move firewood where I live in Tennessee… I live in Knox County which has a quarantine, my family’s farm is in Union County which is not under quarantine at this time. The firewood there is free for my cutting. But, am I allowed to move firewood this far? Can I move it from county to county. Or is the ban only for moving firewood across state lines? Is it okay to move firewood from a non quarantined county to a quarantined county. The distance to move it would be under thirty miles. Is this too far? Should I look for a safe and affordable fuel wood source locally in Knoxville? This is sad that this is happening. Wood is how we heat our home and save money. Just looking for answers and some direction on what I should do.

Thanks, Robert in Tennessee

Dear Robert,

Thanks for your interest and willingness to go the extra mile to find the correct information regarding movement of firewood in and out of regulated areas in Tennessee. In general, the restrictions in Tennessee allow you to move firewood from a non-regulated county to a regulated county, but that material cannot come back out of the regulated county unless it meets certain requirements. Tennessee has firewood movement restrictions in several of its eastern counties of the state, not all – yet. The restrictions are in place based on the presence of either the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) or Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD), or both. The counties you mentioned – Knox and Union – are among those that restrict the movement of firewood. Knox County because it has both EAB and TCD. Union County is also currently under quarantine, but only for TCD (as of August 15, 2011).

Because Knox has both, you can move firewood into that county from Union. However, because Union does not have EAB, you cannot move firewood from Knox to Union. This is indeed confusing, but it amplifies the point that firewood is a pathway for multiple threats and that we need to limit its movement if we stand any chance of slowing the spread of these insects and diseases.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has “Regulations in Plain Language” for both the EAB and TCD quarantines available on their website for further reference.

https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/publications/regulatory/TCD_regs_PlainLanguage.pdf

https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/publications/regulatory/EAB_regs_PlainLanguage.pdf

You may also call their Regulatory Services Division at 1-800-628-2631.

Thanks for asking!

Tim Phelps, Tennessee Division of Forestry.

Don’t Move Firewood, it bugs me; the story of a cool bumper sticker

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

You may have seen the stickers out there- Don’t Move Firewood, it bugs me. And sometimes people email us to ask- where do they come from? Are they from the Don’t Move Firewood campaign itself?

 

I have answers!

 

The “Don’t Move Firewood, it bugs me” bumper stickers (well, bumper magnets) are a product of another group working on the firewood problem- specifically, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Emerald ash borer team. These magnets are great, because they are eye catching, widespread, and get the message across. But no, we don’t make them ourselves here at Don’t Move Firewood.

 

You might notice at the bottom of the magnet, below “it bugs me,” is a link to emeraldashborer.info, which is a very informative website about one of the most harmful pests that travel on firewood, the emerald ash borer. If you want to learn about that bug, you should totally visit their site.

 

Lastly, I wanted to take the time to thank USDA-APHIS for sending the Don’t Move Firewood campaign team a whopping 10,000 of these magnets for our summer outreach project this year. We are really excited to be able to use our outreach booth to benefit both their group, and our group, towards our common goal of firewood outreach. Thanks!

Tips on wood disposal

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

New to the idea of not moving firewood? Staring out the back window of your home or cabin at a stack of firewood that you now know might be a huge potential hazard to the health of your local trees? We can help.

 

Your next steps depend on one simple question- is the wood from in and around your property? Or was it brought in from far away?

 

If it is from in and around your property, it likely poses no threat to your trees, or to anyone else’s trees, as long as you don’t move it very far. Letting it rot is totally fine. Chipping it to use as mulch under your shrubs is a good idea. Burning it in your stove or fire pit could be fun and practical. Even bringing it to a nearby landfill or composting facility is OK, as long as that facility is right in your town. The problem would be if you take it to your cabin a few counties away, or if you stack it on the roadside for strangers to pick up and take it to who-knows-where. That’s the kind of thing you want to avoid- moving it far poses a risk to the trees in that new location.

 

Now, if that wood you are looking at is from far away, it might be contaminated with forest pests or diseases. These are often impossible to see, so don’t just trust yourself to inspect the wood. The best option for disposing of firewood that has already been moved is to burn it. In an ideal world, you’d invite over a few friends for an evening, buy some marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers, and have a large bonfire to burn it all at once. Festive, quick, and effective!

 

If that isn’t feasible (it may not be legal or practical to have a bonfire, depending on where you live) another option would be to burn it more slowly through more typical means- like a wood stove. Most important would be to burn it completely well before spring arrives, and to ensure you carefully rake the site right down to the dirt to get any straggling bark, twigs, or little chips.

 

If you’ve been bringing in firewood from long distances for years now, it really might be in your best interest to call someone to have your trees inspected for pests. Check out this map to find your local State Plant Health Director office– they can direct you to the right authority to have someone come look at your trees.

 

And lastly, be safe in the future. When you cut or collect wood on your property, just use it there- don’t move it. And remember- bonfires are only a stopgap measure to help you correct the mistake of moving firewood. From now on, only buy locally cut and sourced wood. A general rule of thumb is 50 miles from the source, but closer is always better. Support local businesses and keep your trees safe- don’t move firewood.

 

A firewood restrictions question

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

A reader, Bill, asked us recently…

Dear Don’t Move Firewood

Do any eastern states, specifically PA, NJ, and NY have regulations about importing out of state logs, firewood, or hardwood mulch? Thank you.

Bill-

Absolutely. In fact, an increasing number of states throughout the US are putting regulations into place on the interstate movement of firewood, logs, and mulch. Without getting into the deep dark details of all the legalities and regulations, I can tell you this; New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all regulate some of the commodities (logs, firewood, and mulch) that you mention.

Please find more information on each state on our Firewood Summary Map

Kentucky finds EAB

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Kentucky has joined the ranks of states with emerald ash borer. The spread of EAB into this state, with many infested neighboring states, is not unexpected- but it is disappointing. Why does emerald ash borer spread so fast? Mostly firewood moved by citizens. Occasionally contaminated trees sold by nurseries. But really, the problem lies largely with firewood. Kentucky is the home of Louisville Slugger, maker of all-american baseball bats out of ash trees. The ash mostly comes from Pennsylvania (which already is known to have emerald ash borer), but some comes from other forests, too. Without ash, these iconic pieces of American culture will be gone- perhaps we’ll import ash from Asia? It isn’t clear.

Learn more about current regulations in Kentucky by visiting our Firewood Map at dontmovefirewood.org/map/kentucky

Nothing wrong with burning wood

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

(Editor's note: this blog was written in December 2008)

The recent cold weather, plus the ice storm in the New England area, got me thinking about wood heat.

There is nothing wrong with burning firewood, or giving fallen limbs after an ice storm to your next door neighbor for them to burn. I worry sometimes people might get the wrong impression about firewood from this website- we are not against firewood! We are against moving firewood!

To illustrate this, I think a short recent quote from an article in the Telegram Gazette, a newspaper out of Worcester MA, is great.

Homeowners in the ALB regulated area that would prefer to burn fallen woody debris in their homes may certainly do so. However, the downed limbs and branches should not be transported out of the regulated area by individuals for use at other locations.

That's all. It isn't that you shouldn't burn it. Just that you should burn it where you found it, cut it, cleaned it up, or grew it!