Apple and Oak to the Great Smoky Mountains?

Let's start off this Monday right with our occasional advice column, Dear Don't Move Firewood!

 

Dear Don't Move Firewood,

Is it legal to move fruit wood (I.e., apple / plum) from non-quarantined counties to the great smoky mtns?  Same question for oak.

Yours,

Mike

 

Dear Mike,

Excellent question, and a tough one. Apple, plum, and oak woods are all hardwoods, and therefore subject to many many quarantines around the country. If, indeed, you are moving wood from a completely non-quarantined county, it would probably be technically legal. However- the list of quarantined counties is vast (see here for a recent list https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/quarantine-counties.htm).

 

More importantly, the list of quarantined counties does not include counties that have pests that are undiscovered- of course! And that right there is a reality. There are pests that can travel in apple, plum, and oak firewood that might be present, but not yet quarantined, in your area.

 

Therefore, here's our suggestion. If you live in a completely non-quarantined county, and are less than 50 miles from Great Smoky Mountains national park, it is very unlikely to cause harm to move your firewood, so that's OK. But if you are farther away, please play it safe. Use the wood at home, and buy or gather wood at the park.

 

Yours,

Don't Move Firewood

 

P.S. Apple and Plum wood are great for smoked meat recipes. Maybe you could get creative and smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving? Keep the wood at home for a delicious treat.

 

There’s a sticker that says Go Ahead, Move Firewood

Maybe you’ve seen it- the bumper sticker that says, “Go Ahead, Move Firewood. The bugs will get there eventually anyway.” And you may be able to guess that here at Don’t Move Firewood, we don’t really appreciate that sentiment. Because while some bugs might get there eventually…

 

Wait… what? Did we just say the bugs WILL get there eventually? OK, not exactly. This is complicated.

 

Let’s take the case of European Spongy Moth. In the 140 years since spongy moth arrived, it has since infested roughly 1/4 of the country. The moth sadly does quite well in native North American forests, so the slow expansion of the edge of the spongy moth territory is indeed inevitable.

 

But in the case of a pest like the Asian longhorned beetle, they shouldn’t and won’t get there eventually. The Asian longhorned beetle moves slowly and doesn’t fly far. Eradication of every ALB in all the known infestations is totally possible- if the right steps are taken, like not moving firewood and reporting all bug sightings.

 

That’s why we here at Don’t Move Firewood strenously disagree with this bumper sticker- there are too many situations in which moving firewood is completely making the problem bigger, worse, and much more expensive.

 

But wait! Let’s look back at spongy moth. Right now, the spread of this pest is curtailed by a slew of really effective programs, including trapping, local eradication, phermone releases (this keeps the moths from breeding so effectively), public education, and of course Don’t Move Firewood efforts. These efforts will combine to protect 160 million acres of trees from death by moth over the next 20 years. That is a LOT of trees that will shade your street, homes, and natural places for another two decades if you live somewhere like Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois… states on the edge of the spongy moth line.

 

Wouldn’t you rather that spongy moth takes another THREE HUNDRED years to reach the Pacific Ocean? Not a three day road trip in contaminated firewood, but rather three CENTURIES? That’s the goal of Don’t Move Firewood. We have hope that your actions, and the actions of your friends, will make a difference for today, tomorrow, and even hundreds of years.

 

don't move firewood, it bugs me sticker for not moving firewooddon't move firewood sticker that says that's what tree said don't move firewood

Stocking up for the winter ahead

It's that time of year again! Leaves are starting to turn, mornings are getting cold, and frost is in the forecast. If you heat your home or cabin with a woodstove, it is probably time to stock up on a cord or two. Follow these quick tips to help minimize the potential threat this firewood could pose to the trees on your property.

 

#1 – Know your state regulations before you call dealers. Check out our state map for a good start in your area.

 

#2 – Ask questions about the wood source before you buy it (or have it delivered). Where was it cut? Is that within your county? Ideally, it should be within 10 miles of where you will burn it, but up to 50 miles is still okay in some areas. Does it comply with your state's regulations (see question #1!)?

 

#3 – Store it away from your house, and don't stack it between two trees. Firewood up against an outside wall is both a fire hazard, and a potential structural pest issue (like termites). And a large tight stack firewood between two live trees stresses the trunks and can permanently damage their bark and roots. Make the pile on a rack, or freestanding, if you can.

 

Good luck, and stay warm!

 

That’s not what Don’t Move Firewood means

We got a confused email over the weekend here at Don't Move Firewood, claiming that our message is meant to discourage people from heating their homes with wood. Let us be very clear- this is not true! Don't Move Firewood is completely supportive of heating homes with wood, especially with high efficiency wood stoves and wood pellet stoves (as these are better for local air quality and heat efficiency). Don't Move Firewood also is completely OK with campfires at campgrounds and campsites whenever they are permitted, provided the wood is either harvested locally, collected on site, or heat treated (also called kiln dried) to kill any pests within.

 

So let's review the Do's and Don't of Don't Move Firewood:

 

DO:

– Burn wood in your wood stove or campfire if you want to

– Adhere to all local restrictions on safe burning, such as fire restrictions due to this year's drought conditions

– Buy wood that was cut locally whenever possible

– Collect wood on site whenever legal- whether in your own woodlot, local national forest with permit, or while camping as permissable by local rules

– Buy packaged wood that is certified heat treated or kiln dried to kill insects and diseases

– Store firewood from your own trees on your own property when needed

 

DON'T:

– Don't take wood from your home to your campsite, or from campsite to home, if over 10 miles away

– Don't buy wood from an unpermitted, unknown vendor that cannot tell you where their wood came from

– Don't violate fire restrictions when camping- forest fires are dangerous for everyone, and the rules are no joke

– Don't get cords of wood in preparation for wintertime from a vendor that isn't familar with state and local firewood regulations; bulk supplies of wood should certainly come from within 50 miles of your home or cabin, and best if under 10 miles

– Don't mistake Don't Move Firewood for an organization trying to ruin your camping trip or prevent you from heating your home from natural sources. We are actually trying to keep insects from spreading to new places and killing your trees. That's our real goal.

A beautiful evening with Tanglewood on Parade

Branching out on the Lawn at Tanglewood

by Sean Mahoney

While it may seem a deviation from our regular amped up musical taste of banjo and “bumping bass” (I must credit Natalie for introducing me to that phrase) the Don’t Move Firewood crew found ourselves fitting right in with the picnickers streaming onto the lawn in Lenox for the 66th Tanglewood on Parade.

 

The weather was perfect for the occasion. Not a menacing cloud was above us as the soothing sounds of string quartets made their way from the garden.  What a relaxing respite from a long summer on the road! I recommend to anyone traveling through the Berkshires to spend at least one night out on the lawn watching the night creep in over Stockbridge Bowl and experience what Tanglewood is all about.

 

 

In the spirit of Tanglewood I have included a small artistic expression of my emotions for such a wonderful place.

 

Warm Soft Grass

Rolling Hills Afar

Summer Wind

Woodwind Light

Maestro Conducts by Sight

Starry Cool Night

Candles Sleep

Notes Move Away

 Slumber Taunts

If you are curious to read more about how the Boston Symphony Orchestra made its summer home in the Berkshires please click here.

 

See you on the lawn with your Don’t Move Firewood fan in hand!

Oh, the places we go!

The Don’t Move Firewood  trip to the Newport Folk Festival can only be described by one word: Adventure.

by Natalie Garcia

 

The weather for the weekend called for rain. Fortunately all of day one, Poseidon was a fan of all the awesome music that was playing and decided to keep the rain away. We got the weekend started off right, and I was really excited by how many people we were able to talk to — more than 1,000 total! I was prize wheeling like it’s my job (wait, maybe that’s because it is?).

 

It was great to see the enthusiasm in people that knew about the firewood issue, and even more awesome to talk to new people that hadn’t heard about us, promised to let others know, and to not move their firewood anymore. One funny thing about the Newporters was that they kept telling us that handing out Frisbees was “against the rules” – who knew that all of these hipsters were such goodie two shoes?

 

Then of course, when it was time for us to pack up for the night, the heavens opened above Fort Adams State Park and the whole place was soaked. Great.

 

How were we and the 10,000 other people going to make it out of this Fort dry? The answer was, VERY SLOWLY. After the first sound of thunder, it was pretty much a mass exodus out of there, and since we were parked in the very back we were very stuck. It took us 1 hour of waiting – reading in our car – and one hour of traffic – watching a movie and getting a treat from happy festival streakers. Yup. Two gentlemen decided to let everyone stuck in traffic have a much needed giggle.

 

 

Then somehow on our return trip, Google maps decided to send us through Connecticut without me knowing. Basically I got us lost, and I had to navigate us to back to the Mass Turnpike. There was a silver lining to this detour, the Dirt Store and Lake Chargoggagoggmanchaug… two incredibly bizarre and random things we spotted on our short (de)tour of New England.

 

 

Grey Foxes and Emerald Ash Borers

L.E.A.F.s rustling in the Bluegrass @ Grey Fox

by Sean Mahoney

 

Every summer, four thousand wayward travelers descend upon the pristine hayfields at the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, NY to the Greyfox Bluegrass festival. Sounds of banjo and fiddle can be heard around nearly every campsite, and even a hoot and a holler from the dance stage.

 

Hanging out at the festival for four days is awesome enough, but on Friday morning after the rains lifted off the fields, something even more amazing than the actual festival happened; we were greeted by fresh outreach reinforcements courtesy of the Nature Conservancy’s LEAF program.

 

That day, Natalie and I had the pleasure of working with Bless, Gerardo, Mike, and their summer mentor Jim who were spending a month long internship learning and working alongside Conservancy staff in the western Massachusetts.

 

After getting acquainted with some of the quirks of folk life, including banjos, small children busking for change with scratchy covers of “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain” and “Sally Goodin”, flowing tie-dyed pants, men in kilts, and the infamous caravans of VW busses, we were able to convince Bless and Jim to get in the festival spirit by putting on the emerald ash borer costume.

At first they were a little nervous about spreading the Don’t Move Firewood message, but soon enough it was hard  to keep them supplied with materials to hand out because they were moving in full swing and talking to nearly everyone that passed by. Ready with extra Frisbees in hand, Mike was ready to get the message out to campers of all ages.

 

Thanks to the help of the entire LEAF crew, we were able to reach over 2,400 people with the message that transporting firewood can be dangerous to the health of the forests and trees.  It was welcome change to have our outreach team nearly triple in size- I wish we could keep them for all of our future festivals lined up this summer! Natalie and I really missed their energy and humor on the road to Newport Folk Festival the following weekend.

 

So here’s a final message to the LEAF crew: Enjoy the rest of the summer guys, and keep an eye out for Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer when you return home to Boston.  

Hunting with the Wasp Watchers of Massachusetts

Wasp catching with the Wasp Watchers of Massachusetts

by Natalie Garcia

 

I have never hunted anything in my life, well not until now at least. In July, the DMF team was very lucky to be able to participate in Wasp Watchers Massachusetts, a citizen scientist program that uses native wasps to monitor for signs of the emerald ash borer. I was ecstatic to run around and hunt wasps that were returning with their prey, cause who doesn’t love the thrill of the chase?

First thing Monday morning on a hot, dry, beautiful summer day, we were off and it was perfect weather for pursuing Cerceris fumipennis or the smoky-winged wasp. This small wasp loves to prey upon buprestid beetles in order to raise their young and can be key to EAB early detection. We were searching for the females, because they build their nests in dry, sandy areas and are the ones that do the actual searching for beetles to provide food to their young.

 

And let me tell you, these are some hard working ladies. When we arrived almost all of the nests were empty; they were already out hunting for borers and beetles. After about 30 minutes of looking at nests and becoming familiar with the wasp homes, some Cerceris began to return to their nests with their fresh prey.

 

I felt like I was 8 years old again. It was fascinating how many different borers we were able to collect. In a little under an hour we caught 10 beetles. Not so bad for first timers! We were even able to catch an Agrilus species borer, which is in the same family as EAB and the genus that Wasp Watchers are really interested in finding. Total score. What more could we ask for?

 

Fortunately, this was not the only time that we’ll be able to adventure into the Berkshires and search for these beetles. Sean and I are going to be able to survey about once a week and we will make sure to keep you posted on any exciting finds we have in the future. Can’t wait to feel the wind in my hair, with my net in my hand, while monitoring for invasive bugs!

 

Resources:

https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/2012/06/wasp-watchers-wanted-2.html

 

Editor's note:

The remarkable effectiveness of wasp monitoring was underscored by the recent discovery of emerald ash borer in Connecticut by state wasp monitoring efforts. To learn more, visit this press release: https://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=508244&A=4173

 

The Continental Dialogue on Non-native Forest Insects and Diseases

Did you know that the Continental Dialogue on Non-native Forest Insects and Diseases is the organization that founded Don't Move Firewood? Yup, way back in the prehistory of 2007, the Dialogue (for short) obtained the necessary funding and motivation to start the Don't Move Firewood campaign. So it is with great pleasure that we announce the Dialogue's Eighth meeting, to be held in conjunction with the 2012 Arbor Day conference in Sacramento CA. Here's the full Save The Date notice:

 

SAVE THE DATE!

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The Eighth Meeting of the Continental Dialogue on Non-Native Forest Insects and Diseases

 

Location: Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento California

 

Date and Time: November 13th, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

 

Details: The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Partners in Community Forestry National Conference. Information about the Continental Dialogue on Non-Native Forest Insects and Diseases meeting as well as the Arbor Day Partners Conference can be found online at: www.arborday.org/pcf.

 

Agenda: A draft agenda will soon be shared and made available on the Dialogue’s website (www.continentalforestdialogue.org). This year’s speakers will include local partners, educators, business professionals, and Dialogue members. All are welcome, and a diverse range of topics will be covered.

 

Updates and expert discussions on current Dialogue activities:

  • –  Healthy Urban Tree Initiative
  • – Don’t Move Firewood and Firewood Outreach Coordinating Initiative
  • – Promoting the new documentary: Trees, Pests & People
  • – Prevention Initiative
  • – How to use Social Media to slow the spread
  • – Local Successes and Experiences

 

Registration: To register for the Dialogue meeting, please visit the Arbor Day Foundation Partners and Community Forestry Conference site (www.arborday.org/pcf).

Fees for the one day Dialogue Annual Meeting are $150/person ($175/person after October 22, 2012). This covers all meeting costs, lunch, snacks and an evening social mixer.

 

For more information about the Dialogue, or to join the Dialogue, please visit: www.continentalforestdialogue.org. For more information regarding meeting registration, please visit the Arbor Day conference website (www.arborday.org/pcf).