Alberta Summary
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency strongly advises that firewood should be bought and used locally to prevent the spread of pests both within each province, and to prevent pests from accidentally entering new areas and provinces. If you buy wood from a local supplier, make sure it was cut within 80 kilometres from where it is being sold. It is illegal to remove potentially infested materials (such as firewood) out of areas in Canada quarantined for pests such as Dutch elm disease, brown spruce longhorned beetle, gypsy moth, and emerald ash borer. It is very important to use local firewood throughout Alberta in order to slow the spread of Dutch elm disease, as well as native forest pests such as spruce beetle, mountain pine beetle, and eastern spruce budworm. It is not permitted to bring coniferous products such as logs or other forest products (including firewood) that have bark attached into Alberta. It is illegal to bring firewood into many of Canada’s national parks, and most national parks have firewood for purchase on site. This summary is accurate to the best of DMF staff abilities as of 4 October 2019.
Crossing from Canada into the USA: It is against US law to bring any untreated firewood for personal use (including both hardwood and softwood/conifer) from Canada into the USA.
Crossing from the USA into Canada: It is against Canadian law to bring firewood from the USA into Canada for personal use without an appropriate permit. The firewood must also be packaged and labeled to show it has been heat treated to a minimum core temperature of 56°C for a minimum of 30 minutes. Canada encourages buying local firewood through their campaign buylocalburnlocal.ca.
General Canada Web Resources
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency Don’t Move Firewood
- US Customs and Border Protection (regarding personal firewood from Canada into USA)
- Canada Border Services Agency (regarding personal firewood from USA into Canada)
- Asian longhorned beetle, Areas Regulated in Canada
- Brown spruce longhorned beetle, general information, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Emerald ash borer, Areas Regulated in Canada
- European Gypsy Moth North America Quarantine Map
Alberta Specific Web Resources:
- Don’t Move Firewood page, Alberta Campground Guide
- Don’t Move Firewood, Alberta Invasive Species Council
- Play, Clean, Go, Alberta Invasive Species Council
- March of the Mountain Pine Beetle (GIS story map, may take a while to load)
- Tree Cutting Overview, Help Alberta Manage Mountain Pine Beetles
- Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Importation of Conifer logs and Forest Products with Bark Attached
- Society to Prevent Dutch Elm Disease
For more information, visit our General Canada Information page.
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