1-28 FB Use Local Firewood

 As winter arrives, people across the country engage in a centuries-old tradition of buying or gathering firewood to fuel home fires. In a recent poll conducted by The Nature Conservancy, one in 20 Americans said they moved firewood long distances.  But moving firewood can increase the risk of introducing new invasive species that kill native trees. To prevent the spread of these pests, the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington launched a tri-state outreach campaign in 2010 to inform the public about the dangers of moving firewood to Pacific Northwest forests. The campaign, funded by the United State Department of Agriculture, closely followed the messaging of a national Don’t Move Firewood campaign, which recommends buying firewood that was cut locally, preferably within the same county or region of where it will be burned.

The ISDA’s Amy Ferriter told me that people bring firewood extremely long distances: “Campers we polled this summer said that they had brought firewood from as far away as the NorthEast. There are a number of pests we’re concerned with here in the Pacific NW that we’re trying to prevent. One pest we’re concerned with is a cyrex wood wasp.”