Firewood cutting regulations.

[Laroo]

I feel for you guys. I have question. Whose land is it in the first place?

It's mine, it's yours, and anybody else that wants to set foot on it. BUT there has got to be some monitoring / regulation done, otherwise it will be raped into oblivion, like it has been done before, and prolly will be again. The western states are pretty big in size and the percent of public land is extremely high compared to private, we all gotta share, I'm glad that I'm not burdened with the task of managing public land! Sure that it is a loose loose situation.

 

[imagineero]

There are other options available, something worth considering. Lots of guys take wood off people's properties that they want to get rid of. That can be a bit of a crap shoot and some people are very unrealistic in their expectations. There are plenty of good sites out there though, and some people are quite happy to have you take wood and leave brush.

Another option is working with a tree company. I run a small tree company and there are a few guys I know I can trust. I let them come take as much wood as they want off my sites, my workers buck it up and even give them a hand loading. They have to be on site when the job is done though. I've also got a few guys I drop off truckloads of wood to, free of charge or sometimes for a case of beer. If the site had tight access they get it already bucked to whatever size they want. If we had a crane, they get logs. Saves me some chipping, saves them some fuel and time.

Shaun

 

[sb47]

There are other options available, something worth considering. Lots of guys take wood off people's properties that they want to get rid of. That can be a bit of a crap shoot and some people are very unrealistic in their expectations. There are plenty of good sites out there though, and some people are quite happy to have you take wood and leave brush.

Another option is working with a tree company. I run a small tree company and there are a few guys I know I can trust. I let them come take as much wood as they want off my sites, my workers buck it up and even give them a hand loading. They have to be on site when the job is done though. I've also got a few guys I drop off truckloads of wood to, free of charge or sometimes for a case of beer. If the site had tight access they get it already bucked to whatever size they want. If we had a crane, they get logs. Saves me some chipping, saves them some fuel and time.

Shaun

Exactly!
I sell 50+ cords a year and I haven’t left the house once to get wood.
Tree companies bring it for free.
Let them know what you want, but you need to monitor them because they will bring junk if you let them.
I only except green freshly cut wood, yes it takes longer to dry but it makes the best cooking wood.
Standing dead wood tends to get punky fairly quickly around here so I like green wood.
Its all free if you look and ask for it.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Whose land is it in the first place?

Don't pay your property taxes for a few years, and find out who really owns your land in the first place anyways

 

[tooold]

Too bad the OP isn't next door to me. I have about 1200 scotch pine that should be taken out. I wont burn the white pine, blue spruce, or frasier fir I have but these scotch burn clean and long when dry.

 

[jakew88]

Too bad the OP isn't next door to me. I have about 1200 scotch pine that should be taken out. I wont burn the white pine, blue spruce, or frasier fir I have but these scotch burn clean and long when dry.

I would have a lot of fun with all that!

Going out tomorrow. Let everyone know how it goes. Might give some tree companies a call next week too it sounds like. Lol.

 

[HadleyPA]

Around here if called tree companies asking if they would be willing to drop some wood off at your house they would either laugh at you or tell you it will be around $150. They all charge the homeowner a disposal fee to take the wood with them when cutting trees and then turn around and sell it to other people for firewood so there is no chance in heck they are going to give it away to anyone!

 

[slowp]

Ah, the usual mixup. There are National Parks, and there are National Forests. I have never heard of firewood cutting being allowed in a National Park. Therefore, I assume you will be contacting the Shasta Trinity National Forest.

For the rest of you who are aghast at paying $5 a cord for a permit, that was put into place after Ronald Reagan was elected. Nuff said on that. Prior to that, firewood permits were free for personal use. You showed up, got your saw inspected for a spark arrestor screen, signed a paper and off you went. The fuel loading was reduced and all was well.

You should get some tickets and you'd best get to cutting because your permit will only be good for two months. The tags change color every year on Jan. 1. You will not be able to buy a 2013 permit until the office opens up after Jan. 1--see the thread somewhere about a guy who got busted for cutting without a permit. Be sure to notch or punch out the date properly and attach it to the load securely. There are a lot of games played to try to beat the system and if you are caught, you will lose your firewood, and you could even have your saw confiscated. I've seen trucks with illegal firewood impounded too. It isn't worth it.

Rules differ on forests. The Shasta-T will have some areas with similar rules to here, because part of their forest is ruled by the Northwest Forest Plan, which resulted from the Spotted Owl being listed as threatened and endangered. The rules are pretty complex, but it sounds like you have an idea.

Part of the firewood cutting experience out here is driving about in the woods. Kind of like deer hunting without a tree stand. You search, locate it, cut it up and load it. That's it.

Another point, if you can't get a half cord on your pickup, it still has to have a tag on it. Like my wood would be about $10 a cord because I get about a quarter of a cord in my little pickups. But there is no special tag for small loads.

 

[allstihl]

wood or deer, i live in a no tag zone. god bless america

 

[sb47]

No cutting wood or even gathering up fallen dead wood at my local National Forest. Folks come by and get my cheap scrap wood for there camping fires.
Yep! I even sell my scrap junk wood. I get $30.00 for a truck load thrown in only.
People will buy anything!

 

[MarineScott]

My neighbor behind me has 40 acres. I have harvested 40+ cords of wood and still cutting, mostly red and white oak. I drive my Jeep with a trailer into the woods where I want. He now has a clean and healthy looking woods.

 

[jakew88]

View attachment 260923

Got some. My tags are 1/4 cord each. I put three on here.

 

[slowp]

View attachment 260923

Got some. My tags are 1/4 cord each. I put three on here.

That's good for people who use little pickups. Up here it is a half cord per tag.

For those of us who live "out west" and don't live near cities, where we don't have tree companies working except for those who whack out the powerline corridors, the public land is the main place to get firewood. People like me do not call an arborist to take down a tree. If it is beyond our means, we call a logger to come and fall it.

I think you'd never get enough wood if you waited for a "tree company" to do something on private land.

Sometimes, access to logging slash is also kept open. You might have a 20 mile drive to get there, but it is a nice drive through the woods. We also have to drive at least an hour to get to a McDonalds, Walmart, etc. If you want to buy clothing that isn't rigging clothing, you must go an hour away. That's the way it is.

 

[Laroo]

That's good for people who use little pickups. Up here it is a half cord per tag.

For those of us who live "out west" and don't live near cities, where we don't have tree companies working except for those who whack out the powerline corridors, the public land is the main place to get firewood. People like me do not call an arborist to take down a tree. If it is beyond our means, we call a logger to come and fall it.

I think you'd never get enough wood if you waited for a "tree company" to do something on private land.

Sometimes, access to logging slash is also kept open. You might have a 20 mile drive to get there, but it is a nice drive through the woods. We also have to drive at least an hour to get to a McDonalds, Walmart, etc. If you want to buy clothing that isn't rigging clothing, you must go an hour away. That's the way it is.

Yup that pretty well sums it up. I'm about 120 miles from the nearest tree service, and any private land is either big enough that any trees are sold under a logging contract, or small enough that the land owner wants everything for their own use. The state I live in right now is over 80 percent public land.

 

[Steve NW WI]

View attachment 260923

Got some. My tags are 1/4 cord each. I put three on here.

I understand the "better safe than sorry" idea, but I kinda doubt there's more than 1/2 cord on there, I'd say two tags would have been plenty.

I cut a few cords last year on public land 30 miles from me, between the extra time driving and fuel costs, it wasn't cheap wood by the time I was done. I'm very thankful I have 20 acres of my own woods to cut in as well as friends that always need trees cleaned up.

Nice work and keep us updated! Rep headed your way.

 

[jakew88]

I understand the "better safe than sorry" idea, but I kinda doubt there's more than 1/2 cord on there, I'd say two tags would have been plenty.

I cut a few cords last year on public land 30 miles from me, between the extra time driving and fuel costs, it wasn't cheap wood by the time I was done. I'm very thankful I have 20 acres of my own woods to cut in as well as friends that always need trees cleaned up.

Nice work and keep us updated! Rep headed your way.

Oh I know. I just didnt want any trouble.

Although the trip didnt go without a hitch, after we were loaded up tagging the logs a Sierra pacific trucks rolls up and says I was on there property.

Guess I can't read maps. Lol guy was pretty cool though and just let us go. Even told us where some good wood was on public land.

I would be happy with a twenty mile drive. I had to drive an hour and a half.