A self-service firewood point of sale at Mirror Lake State Park in Sauk County. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Outreach and Communications,  Fitchburg
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

With camping season about to enter full swing, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) urges campers to think twice before giving invasive species or harmful hitchhikers a ride in their firewood.

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and campfires are a Wisconsin summer staple. And campers should know it’s a big help to the state’s trees when they help to prevent the spread of invasive pests by making smart firewood choices.

Tree-killing hitchhikers often lurk on or inside firewood. These include the spongy moth, Asian long horned beetle, emerald ash borer, the fungus that causes oak wilt and many other invasive insects and fungi.

Your firewood choices are important, and with good practice, you can help slow the spread of these tree-killing pests and diseases.

When untreated firewood ­— even just one log — is transported away from the tree where it was harvested, those pests and fungi can later emerge to attack trees at the new location. This can happen whether that new location is in the next town or hundreds of miles away. The use of local firewood avoids moving pests to new places.

The Don’t Move Firewood website urges people to “buy local, burn local.” That means purchasing firewood for your camping trip on-site instead of bringing it from home or picking it up along the way. It’s also strongly recommended that campers leave any unused firewood behind. It’s not worth bringing a pest home to infest your property.

The same guidelines apply to those who use wood to heat their cabins, homes or firepits. Closer is better. You don’t want to put the trees on your property at risk from hitchhiking insects or fungi.

However, firewood that has been treatment-certified by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is safe and legal to take anywhere in the state. Certified firewood has undergone one or more approved methods to neutralize pests and fungi.

All staffed state parks and forests with campgrounds offer local firewood for sale, and firewood is often available for purchase privately nearby. To find local firewood sellers and vendors of certified firewood, visit the Firewood Scout website.

For more information on the risks of moving firewood, visit the DNR’s Firewood webpage.