Dear Don’t Move Firewood,
Some wood is resistant to bugs, such as eucalyptus. Is it banned from Utah forests?
Yours,
Inquisitive Firewood User
Dear Inquisitive Firewood User,
You’ve got a good two part question here- is a wood like eucalyptus (which is rot and insect resistant) safe to move, and also what are the regulations in Utah. Let’s do them in reverse order.
At this time, Utah does not explicitly ban all firewood from out of state, so it would be legal to bring wood from some nearby states in most cases. Essentially, as long as the wood isn’t under quarantine (such as hardwood from an emerald ash borer infested area, or wood stored on the ground in an imported fire ant infested area), you could bring it to Utah. You can look up a quick summary of Utah’s recommendations on our map. Now, just because it is a legal action doesn’t mean we recommend moving firewood into Utah forests from out of state, so please remember the rule of thumb is still not to move it over 50 miles from wood source to campfire location.
Separately, an important thing to take into account is that some forest pests – such as the very damaging European spongy moth– don’t live inside the wood itself, but instead they lay eggs on the wood after it has been cut. So even resistant woods like eucalyptus can pose a hazard in those situations. Further, if you live in an area under quarantine for Imported Fire Ant, they can infest any firewood that is stored right on the ground and it is illegal to move firewood from those areas.
Good luck, and thanks for asking!
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