SUBJECT: Firewood Management on DNR Properties

I. Purpose

This information bulletin establishes a policy for the movement and management of firewood on a "DNR property" as defined at 312 IAC 8-1-4.

Part of the mission of the Indiana department of natural resources is to manage, protect, and wisely use natural resources for the benefit of our citizens. Firewood serves as a potential vector for a "pest or pathogen", as defined at IC 14-8-2-203, that may threaten the health of forest resources. The most well-known of these is the emerald ash borer (EAB), which has killed more than 25 million ash trees in the Upper Midwest and is present in 35 Indiana counties. EAB is killing ash in the urban forests and on 27,000 acres of rural forest. In addition to EAB, the gypsy moth, Asian longhorned beetle, thousand canker disease of black walnut, and many others are immediate threats to the forest resources and can be spread through the movement of firewood.

The purpose of this information bulletin is to help slow the movement of existing pests or pathogens on DNR properties and to prevent, as much as possible, the introduction of new pests or pathogens that may result in damage to forest resources.

II. Background

Since 2007, divisions that administer DNR properties, particularly the division of state parks and reservoirs, have managed firewood through an internal policy in an effort to slow the movement of EAB. Firewood from quarantined states or counties with EAB has been prohibited from entering state parks, reservoirs, and state forests. Firewood with a federal or state compliance stamp was exempt, as was scrap, kiln-dried lumber and pine.

Administration of the internal policy was through firewood checks at property entrances or campground gates. Firewood not in compliance could be confiscated and, in some cases, replaced by the division managing the DNR property, and then burned quickly. The diverse activities handled at entrance and campground gates often made implementation of the internal policy difficult. Where no staffed gates existed, implementation was even less effective. No enforcement consequences, other than confiscation of firewood, supported the internal policy. The primary tools for implementation were publicity and education, and those have been successful in many cases. As the potential for invasive pests or pathogens increases, however, the development of this information bulletin provides better DNR coordination of firewood management.

III. Definitions

"Firewood" means kindling, logs, boards, lumber, timber, and any part of a tree that is in a form and size appropriate for use as fuel. Logs cut into lengths at least 4 1/2 feet long are not firewood.

"Kiln-dried construction lumber" means processed boards cut and dried to remove all bark.

IV. Applications