Firewood Facts for Campground Owners
Firewood can move forest pests long distances.
- Insects and diseases can be in, on or under the bark of firewood, or even deep within the wood itself. People can move pests (that spread slowly on their own) hundreds of miles in a single day.
- With global trade our forests are getting more pressure from insects and diseases inadvertently brought to North America and then moved with firewood.
- Emerald ash borer is one of the scariest insects that can be moved with firewood. It can kill any ash in North America and has already killed millions of trees in the mid-west.
- Emerald ash borer is found in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Ontario, Canada as of 2007. There is a federal quarantine on all firewood in all or portions of these states and FIREWOOD CAN NOT BE TRANSPORTED ACROSS THESE STATELINES.
- Other serious insects and diseases can be moved with firewood as well. A few of these are: the Sirex woodwasp found in New York, Vermont and Ontario, Canada; Asian longhorned beetle in New York, New Jersey and Toronto, Canada; and oak wilt - a disease found in central US.
People should leave their firewood at home.
What can you do to help?
- Alert your campers to the problem of moving firewood. This is a new issue; it used to be fine to bring firewood when you camped. But with a changing world we have to change our ways to protect the things we value.
- Bookmarks, posters and flyers about firewood are available from the Maine Forest Service.
- Provide good quality firewood at a reasonable price and let your campers know that it is there. OR be sure there is good firewood at a reasonable price available near by. And let your clients know.
- Obtain YOUR firewood nearby OR buy kiln dried firewood.
Did you Know?
Even within Maine, the movement of firewood is regulated to and from certain parts of the State because:
- gypsy moth - does not occur north of Houlton
- hemlock woolly adelgid - only occurs in parts of York county
- larch canker - only occurs in parts of Knox, Lincoln, Washington and Waldo counties
- pine shoot beetle - does not occur in Aroostook and Washington counties.
