Did you know that 20% of US residents identify themselves as a birdwatcher, bird lover, or birder? That’s a LOT of binocular wielding citizen scientists! Does that include… YOU? Here at Don’t Move Firewood, we’d like to invite all the birdwatchers that participate in the Christmas Bird Count, Great Backyard Bird Count, or just everyday […]
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Firewood Month 2021 Partner Graphics Awards
We are excited to announce the Don’t Move Firewood campaign’s very first Firewood Month Partners Graphics Awards! We are so grateful for the amazing work our partners do to protect forests across North America, as well as the effort they put into amplifying the important messaging on best firewood practices. We were thrilled to see […]
Campaigning for Conservation
Guest blog by Laurel Downs, The Nature Conservancy The overall goal of the Don’t Move Firewood campaign boils down to protecting trees in North America from destructive pests and diseases. We want to heighten awareness around the fact that infested or contaminated firewood is one of the most common ways by which invasive forest […]
In the Epicenter of the Spotted Lanternfly Infestation
Guest blog by Laurel Downs, The Nature Conservancy Last summer I sat on the back porch of my parents’ house along the Schuylkill River in Berks County, Pennsylvania and watched what I thought was a very peculiar weevil-like bug awkwardly wander across the floorboards. Gangling legs moved like feelers topped with a broad body that […]
Changing of Lymantria dispar name
The Don’t Move Firewood outreach and education materials have included Lymantria dispar* as a pest commonly moved via the firewood pathway since the campaign was launched in 2008. With the summer 2021 announcement of the removal of the old common name from the approved common names list held by the Entomological Society of America (ESA), […]
Top 5 Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week Ideas for 2021
The emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that infests and kills ash trees in North America. Right now, the EAB is found across most of the Central and Eastern US, as well as increasingly the Great Plains and Southeastern states. Once a tree has been infested with emerald ash borer for several years, […]
Firewood as a vector of forest pest dispersal in North America: What do we know, and what do we need to know?
Guest blog by David Coyle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University There are some astonishingly impactful invasive tree-killing pests present in North American forests. Some of these, like the emerald ash borer, are capable of potentially wiping out entire tree genera- as the damage they create reliably kills members […]
Federal Deregulation of Emerald Ash Borer
USDA APHIS published the final rule that will remove federal domestic EAB quarantine regulations on December 15th 2020, with the rule to take effect January 14 2021 (read the press release here). This action will generate two key changes that pertain to the movement of potentially EAB infested firewood. The first change is that no […]
South Carolina finds an Asian longhorned beetle infestation
In late May 2020, an observant resident of Hollywood, SC noticed and reported an unusual black and white spotted beetle near a porch light at their home. That beetle unfortunately turned out to be one of many Asian longhorned beetles infesting trees in the area, and USDA APHIS is now working with the Clemson Department […]
Don’t Move Firewood Campaign Evaluation 2020
The Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood (DMF) educational campaign is the most widely recognized firewood outreach campaign in the USA and Canada. The Nature Conservancy conducts its own nationwide campaign of forest pest and firewood outreach while supporting hundreds of partnering entities in conducting their own efforts. To gain a better understanding of the perception […]