Holy Mulberry Batman

You're right about that. I live along side 40 acres of mostly oak and hickory which hasn't been logged in at least 150 years, if ever.

The tree services around here act like I'm doing them a huge favor when I take free logs. Not just spruce and cottonwood, either. They regularly drop me all flavors of maple, red oak, mulberry, and even a honey locust or white oak once or twice a year. (I have never once received free hickory or black walnut, but they drop practically every other hardwood that grows in the mid-west).

A few of the tree services split and sell firewood in the off-season, but for the most part, they make so much money with tree removal, they don't bother with the firewood side of the business.

Finally, there must just not be many people in SE Michigan who burn wood in comparison to the supply of free logs. When the electric company trims along the power lines, they will sometimes buck up large branches and leave them by the side of the road for whoever wants them. I've seen small piles of 15 or 20 rounds sitting there for a week before someone grabs them, which always surprises me. I don't have the right kind of vehicle to grab logs from the side of the road, but if I had a truck, I'd grab any free rounds already cut to length. It doesn't get any easier than that.