I received an email from a forester asking if we could help. See below. My name is David Coyle, and I’m a forest health specialist with Southern Regional Extension Forestry. Based out of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, I work with states across the southeastern U.S. to provide education and training regarding forest and tree health issues. I’m working with several southeastern states to evaluate people’s awareness and thoughts on forest and tree health, as well as their use of firewood. We would greatly appreciate your participation in this survey, which shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes. To take the survey, click the following link: Forest and Tree Health Awareness Survey Thank you in advance, and have a great day. Sincerely, Dave Coyle Email: [email protected] Phone: 706-524-3665 Twitter: @drdavecoyle
The survey seems to be interested in 1- awareness/acceptance of the don't move firewood campaign 2a- public awareness/firewood user awareness of invasive species issues 2b- your firewood use and source 3- resistance/acceptance to use of kiln processed firewood
My big problem with our local don't move firewood campaign is that it is governed by state and county lines. I can't legally get firewood from the town 8 miles to the east or the one 10 miles to the north but I can go south 30 miles to the county seat and that's ok.
Survey completed. Cutting my firewood locally so I don't see it as a big problem for me. I do see quite a few oaks dying around here in north Alabama. I drove to Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and saw an amazing amount of dead trees on the way. They all appeared to be the same kind of tree but I didn't know what they were. If they were ash, they didn't appear to be the same kind of ash that I'm used to seeing here in Alabama.
I live 1 mile from NY so those politically drawn boundaries do look rather silly and I've no need for pre-heat treated wood ether. It gets heat treated by me a few at a time. Lots of good info on pests on the closing website link Common Names | Don't Move Firewood I knew that moving firewood far was an issue but I had no idea that nursery stock is just as evil or more so at spreading things. Rules and regulations are probably harder on that industry.
Yeah I can see the bureaucracy coming now, only heat treated wood. Sorry boys, yes diseases in trees exist today in unprecedented levels, but it drives me nuts when we (Maine) takes in low grade chips from Scandinavia and yet they say don't move firewood 10 miles. We tried to sell some of of hemlock over there but they won't take it, in fact they won't take any wood, citing diseases and pests. Funny how lately this country is only one way. We take their junk wood, but they won't take ANY of ours.
here the kiln dried is to try and convince people to use dry wood! state has heat assistance to low income persons only pays for wood kiln dried to 12% M.C. but who else is going to pay 400 a cord!
I said I'd be willing to burn certified treated wood of it was delivered free to my house. What? It's not like I expect it to be stacked for free too.
That's what happened from shipping container and pallet wood from overseas companies. The US allowed untreated wood crates and pallets carrying pests from overseas, most notably EAB from China and Asia, while we could only export certified treated wood from the US. I just took this pic last week. It was on my hood while I was in the store. A welcome "pest", but a Chinese praying mantis it's certainly not indigenous to Wisconsin. When I worked in a city where the business park was huge, with international companies, we had a lot of Chinese mantis's in summer. Just hanging out, killin' stuff. I wonder if they eat EAB, I'm sure they do.
I understand both sides of things on this. Heat treated wood is an absolute way to ensure pest die back, but at the same time we are a free country too, and with freedom to citizens, the government loses some control. I don't want to turn this into a political issue, but I had heard the reason the Scandinavians were allowed to import junk chip wood into the USA to make paper while we cannot sell it to the same paper mill some 30 miles from my house (and I am part of the American Tree Farm System, and Certified under the NRCS and Forest Stewardship Council) , is because of our national debt.
Done but a little cautious. I think some of the questions and choices of answers were leading to a predetermined conclusion.... But maybe I'm just paranoid.
