Here at Don't Move Firewood, we get a lot of interesting ideas and news from our Contact Us page. Not infrequently, I get people that want to promote a legitimate product to replace conventional cut-wood firewood, something like a compressed sawdust log, or a pressed wood log, or pellets, or some other reclaimed wood product.

NEWS RELEASE --- For Immediate Release

Contact: Sarah Volkman, 215-622-0557
              svolkman@tnc.org

All our favorite facebook, twitter, and email accounts are buzzing today with the news of the newly released scientific paper on live tree pests (both insects and other arthropods) that emerge from firewood. You can read an excellent short summary of the paper here, titled Insects Found in Nearly 50% of Retail Firewood, or you can read the whole paper here if you have a subscription.

If you've been driving through Massachusetts lately, you may have seen electronic signs on the highway saying "Stop Invasive Pests. Keep Firewood Local." Are you wondering what is up? Well, we're here to help. When you keep firewood local, you are helping prevent the spread of unwanted invasive pests that can hitchhike on contaminated firewood. Pests like the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and gypsy moth kill your trees and cause serious damage to natural forests and landscapes.

Our Memorial Day preparations have begun, with our national press release heading out into the world yesterday. Read the whole thing here!

VACATION SEASON BEGINS HIGH RISK PERIOD FOR SPREAD OF EMERALD ASH BORER

Deadly invasive insect has been discovered in 15 states and poses a threat to many others

Our annual Spring Cleaning press release is ready for business! I hope we get a lot of coverage, and here it is in its entirety;

BEWARE OF UNWANTED GARDEN AND TREE PESTS DURING SPRING CLEANUP

Tree-killing insects and diseases can be spread when disposing of yard waste

Perhaps no single food is as threatened by forest pests as is Maple Syrup. Today, Don't Move Firewood put out a press release to talk about how moving firewood threatens this delicious traditional food;

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U.S. Maple Syrup Industry at Risk

The Asian longhorned beetle could put an end to an American staple at the breakfast table

Congratulations to the smart folks that worked tirelessly to pass a firewood preventative measure in Oregon! Starting in a little over a year, firewood that is sold in Oregon will need to either be from a neighboring state, or kiln (high heat) dryed and labeled. Here at Don't Move Firewood, we think this is a great step forward to protect the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and we'll be working to spread the word about this law- and any information how the preparation for implementation goes in 2012- as we learn more!

The California Forest Pest Council has a press release out today, and I wanted to share it in its entirety because I think it is an excellent example of a collaborative group that is doing great preventative work. Nice job!

News Release

HELP KEEP CALIFORNIA FORESTS HEALTHY - KEEP FIREWOOD LOCAL

Date: September 29, 2011

A new study was published on Friday the 9th about the economic impacts of forest insects and diseases. One thing that really struck me from the article was this line from the Abstract, "Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years."