Firewood is mentioned often and very appropriately in the November Smithsonian magazine article, Invasion of the Longhorn Beetles. I'm really glad the author talked about so many facets of the problem of invasive forest pests- how they get here, how people find them, how we try to get rid of them once they arrive. But most of all, being from Don't Move Firewood, I'm really glad for these quotes;
Pertaining to the NYC area spot infestations of Asian longhorned beetles;
In addition, the USDA established a quarantine around much of New York City, prohibiting anyone from transporting wood that could host the beetle.
Discussing the early days of the Worcester infestation
A state order was issued forbidding the transportation of all wood from host tree species and all firewood out of a 17-square-mile area in the heart of the city.
But best of all in my mind, and why I advocate that no firewood should be moved very far, and outstanding musing by the author Peter Alsop...
(The author) thought about all the years the beetle had been in Worcester before it was discovered, years in which wood was moved freely out of the city, in the back of a landscaper's truck, perhaps, or as firewood to be stacked beside someone's cabin in the forests of New Hampshire or Vermont or Maine.
This is exactly it. The issue isn't all with what you know is a problem- it is what nobody knows. The great unknown. Don't move firewood very far, and you don't risk regretting it later.
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