Don't Move Firewood!

Invasive diseases and insects can exist in firewood, and the transportation of firewood to the campground from different locations contributes to the spread of these infestations. Buy your firewood locally to avoid inadvertently spreading invasive insects around the country.

Heather Finch, Urban Forester II, is the emerald ash borer outreach coordinator in Fairfax County, VA. She says, "The emerald ash borer is an exotic invasive insect that was accidentally introduced into the U.S. in wood packing material from Asia. It has killed more than 25 million ash trees in 10 U.S. states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia) and Canada so far and is still being found in new areas all the time. The emerald ash borer and other invasive tree-killing insects like gypsy moth and Asian longhorned beetle can travel great distances in firewood. Many of the new infestations found have been near campgrounds, and it is believed that the transport of firewood has been one of the biggest factors allowing this pest to spread throughout so many states in about a 6 year period. There are federal and state quarantines in all of the states where emerald ash borer has been found so far. It is illegal to move firewood from quarantined areas to non-quarantined areas and there are heavy fines for violations. Regardless of that, it is just good practice to buy your firewood locally to avoid inadvertently spreading invasive insects around the country."

So, the take home message is

“Don’t Move Firewood!”

Specific information about state and federal firewood quarantines is available at www.emeraldashborer.info. In Virginia, for instance, basically the suburbs of Washington D.C. are quarantined. The counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier and Arlington and the cities of Manassas, Manassas Park, Falls Church, Alexandria and Fairfax City are quarantined (no hardwood firewood may be moved outside this area). This is important for campers in this area because many people travel from the D.C. metro area to camp in areas like the Shenandoah National park, which is just outside the quarantined area. I'm sure this scenario is true of many of the other quarantined states as well.

For more details, check out these Web sites:
www.goodcamper.info
www.stopthebeetle.info
www.emeraldashborer.info
www.dontmovefirewood.org