Attention!

Invasive Insects and Diseases found in Firewood Threaten Vermont's Forests and Urban Trees

Before transporting firewood into Vermont from out of state, please read the following information regarding a very real threat to forestsand urban trees in Vermont and all of North America.

Non-native insects and diseases that have found their way into the United States are being transported long distances by “hitch-hiking” in firewood. On their own, these pests move very slowly, only a couple of miles or less per year. Unfortunately, people are innocently providing a ready means of dispersal, often several hundred miles per day, by bringing infested firewood from home to their camping, sporting or second home destination. One forest pest, the emerald ash borer, has already killed over 20 million ash trees in the mid-west. When infestations of the emerald ash borer are found in new locations,attempts to halt its spread involve drastic measures such as complete removal of all ash trees in the immediate and surrounding area. Other destructive non-native pests such as the Asian Long Horned beetle and Sudden Oak Death disease could also be transported in firewood.

As far as we know, none of these pests have found their way to Vermont yet, although Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Long Horned beetle are less than one day’s drive away!

Here’s what you can do, when you travel, to help protect Vermonts forests and urban trees from these potentially devastating pests:

(2) If you have already brought firewood from home, do not take it back and do not leave it. Burn it as soon as possible!

FYI: EAB has caused regulatory agencies and the USDA to enforce quarantines (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) and fines to prevent potentially infested ash trees, logs or hardwood firewood from moving out of areas where EAB occurs.

Firewood Related Links:

VT Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation

New York Department of Environmental Conservation

Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Florida Department of Agriculture

The Nature Conservancy

US Forest Service Press Release

Union of Concerned Scientists

Missouri Conservationist Online

KEEP THEM OUT OF VERMONT!