Sometimes it seems like the firewood problem is only in the Eastern and Midwestern US. Not true! A nice online version of a small, local, paper in California had some good quotes this week about the problem of moving firewood and the gold-spotted oak borer.
The gold-spotter oak borer (GSOB) is distantly related to the emerald ash borer. The main difference is that the GSOB kills oaks, and that GSOB is not yet widespread. In the Idyllwild Town Crier, this week their article Don't bring oak to Idyllwild said;
The message is: Don’t move oak firewood from San Diego County into Riverside County or further north. Turner emphasized that citrus firewood does not pose a problem to the local forest.
Of course, here at Don't Move Firewood we'd prefer they had said that you shouldn't move ANY firewood, even citrus, just to be safe. You never know if something else could be on citrus, or another wood. But at least the message is getting out there in general.
Source: http://www.towncrier.com/stories/story.1.20091015.html
Comments
Burn It Where You Buy It
...or get a document from the seller certifying the firewood poses no danger from pests, and in which the seller agrees to be held legally liable for any damage traceable to the wood sold. An alternative is to require firewood sellers in quarantined areas to remediate all firewood they sell.
I agree I should refine my post
Personally, I really do think that people should never move firewood... very far. I'm not opposed to moving firewood to your house or campsite, as long as it is in the same county, or within 50 miles, or otherwise not particularly far. It isn't like anyone is advocating the end of using firewood, or even the total end of moving it. Just the end of moving it far enough to spread an infestation.
Moving Firewood
Yes, I am in the midst of GSOB dead oaks. Also in a place where we all heat our homes with wood. There is an old phrase, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".
This sentiment of "don't move ANY firewood" is ludicrous. It must be a defined statement backed by federal(CFR:code of Federal Regulations) and state law, it must be informative, such as "do not move infected oak wood". If this "don't move firewood" takes hold, the urbanites will find out how much hinterland there really is. How many woodstove companies might be interested in this "don't move ANY firewood" movement"? How many families who want to buy a cord of eucalyptus to heat their home in the mountains this winter? Do you see where this blanket statement is heading?
To offer a similarly ludicrous statement: what if the mountain folk knew that fast-food was bad for you, so they got everyone on every federal and state government agency to form a task force to bombard the people with a "Don't eat food!' movement.
Get it? Specify. Not moving firewood at all is life threatening to a large part of the population. They'll also think you are being lobbied by the gas and electric companies.
Remember, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Be specific. We all love our trees. There is a lot of good wood to heat our homes with. There are ways to manage possibly infected wood in your yard, cover it from spring 'til fall with clear plastic. Burn it as soon as you can. Learn restoration techniques, such as gathering, storing, and planting acorns.
But jeez, to think that telling everyone in the USA that they can no longer move firewood, ever? Do you want to see the uprising of isolationists, hippies, regular old mountain folk, yuppies, the likes that have never united, unite? For their lives (because woodstovers must stay warm in the winter)?
I don't think the government would EVER want to see that. Please, spread your message about the infestations, but do be more cautious with the inflammatory words "Don't move any firewood".It could eventually affect more than summer campers.
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