Don't Move Firewood

Don't Move Firewood

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett
With temperatures beginning to dip along with the falling leaves, the Colorado State Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Agriculture are reminding folks to buy and use only local firewood. That will help prevent the spread of pests both within the state, and to prevent pests from accidentally entering the state.

There is an initiative underway known as Firewood Month which is a joint effort from USDA and the Nature Conservancy to bring that same message to people around the country.

Leigh Greenwood, The Nature Conservancy's Forest Health Director spoke with the USDA news service.

"Pests change all the time. What doesn't change is the need to use safer firewood. The webpage we have is: www.Dontmovefirewood.org.

It is illegal to remove most firewood out of the quarantined area such as Boulder County due to the discovery of emerald ash borer in late 2013. Eighteen states to the east of Colorado prohibit bringing hardwood firewood originating from Colorado into their state, to prevent the movement of thousand cankers disease.

Many out-of-state visitors to Colorado live in areas under quarantine for pests such as emerald ash borer, gypsy moth, and Asian longhorned beetle, and it is illegal to move any regulated items including firewood from quarantined zones out of those states and into Colorado.

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