In the National Forests the prices and particulars vary by location. In the Mt Hood NF, we are allowed up to 6 Cords per HOUSEHOLD, not person, it was 5 cords before last year. It is $10/ cord, minimum $20 purchase at a time. We are not allowed to fall ANYTHING. In the Bend/Fort Rock unit, they are allowed 8 cords/ household, $10/cord, that area can fall up to 24” DBH Standing Dead, $20 minimum purchase The Wenatchee NF, in Washington State is allowed 12 cords per household at $5/cord, $20 minimum purchase, and are allowed to fall Standing Dead up to 20” DBH The National Forest Permits are 1/2 cord “Tags” that are to be attached to the rear of the load in plain view of a following vehicle Stabbing tags with a Scrench is an easy way to attach the tags, a Forest Circus Ranger or State Patrol may look for your tags, but might not stop you if they can see your tags, and your load has enough tags attached. My trailer will hold over 2 cords, but usually 2 cords is a comfortable overload weight wise, so I would need 4 tags showing The Forest Circus puts out a weekly Firewood Information Sheet that you are required to have in your possession along with the map showing the cutting areas, the FIS lists any closures and other rules and changes, it will also sometimes list areas that they want the fuel load reduced, sometimes it has some really good information, like the log decks that we cut a lot off of last year Doug
No madrone that far inland. We can only cut stuff that's already down, and hemlock and alder are the most common ones that tip over. Maple isn't hard to find. Firs can be found but people snatch them up pretty quick. With the amount of trees down right now, a guy would have to cut the hemlock and alder off the road if he wants to reach a fir.
Nothing wrong with Alder, or Hemlock and White Fir, the Hemlock and White Fir Season quick and don’t leave much ash. Douglas Fir is one of my Favorites, season’s almost as fast as White Fir, but gives better Heat and Burn Times, and very little ash as Well Doug
I like alder. It splits easy, dries quickly, and the bark is clean. It's given me burn times much better than the BTU charts would indicate. Hemlock is my least favorite of the woods I burn because it's inconsistent. I've had hemlock that had all the good qualities of fir, and I've had some that seemed to take forever to dry. The worst part is that some hemlock, even when good and dry, will take forever to get burning. No idea why, but it's like throwing a brick in the stove.
I haven’t had too much trouble with Hemlock, but we got some well seasoned Black Walnut from her Cousin, it burned well, but that stuff practically converted a cord of BW to a cord of Ash. Dayum, I have never seen a wood create so much ash I like Alder also, when we get it, but most of our cutting is above where Alder grows. Our cutting usually bottoms out around 3,500’, and goes over 6,000’ with around 5,000 the most common Doug
This is our Alder, and I wouldn’t expect a whole lot out of it. I’ve cut and burned cords of it as a kid, but don’t waste time with burning it now due to better options. Trees of Wisconsin: Alnus incana, speckled alder Maybe the burn charts refer to this (Alnus incana) and your Alder is different/better. edit: Red Alder? https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_alru2.pdf edit 2: Looks like Red Alder is just a little lighter than Red Maple, which I burn a lot of. Sounds decent. I always wondered when you west coast guys wrote of burning Alder (I figured you were just desperate for hardwoods!)
Definitely a Different “Alder” our Alders are full Tree sized, typically 10-12 DBH often a bit larger I fell one in October of 2018 I fell an Alder for a property owner, he had been a Forester with the Forest Circus, he said this was an Alder, but admitted it was the Strangest looking Alder he had ever seen. Our Alders generally have a pretty straight trunk, and the Branches usually are straighter as well. IIRC, this tree was about 24-28”DBH Doug
I sure do like it too. Despite a little bit messy at first being green, it seasons quite well quickly though. I do feel it burns better than how it’s recognized. I don’t feel like this is a case of identity but a sense of underestimation. It’s worthy of it’s heat albeit it’s criticism. I burned an 8 year old half cord supply a couple years ago and I told myself “this is worthy of burning on Xmas” so I did.
Personally not a big fan of Alder! But if it was close and free, or almost so, I would utilize it. With my limited space I would prefer more BTU dense woods. Funny I don't mind Pine but am biased against Alder. Didn't Aldo Leopold treat that subject of tree bias, at least briefly, in "A Sand County Almanac"?
