How to deal with firewood transport quarantines

[Jere39]

Here in SE PA the Spotted Lanternfly is cause for Township by Township quarantines in an ever-expanding attempt to isolate the Spotted Lanternfly infestation. Unfortunately, the department of agriculture makes their expansion announcements on their own website, and at their own discretion. It's not easy to keep up with their plans. Of course neither is it clear, nor easy to understand how they intend to enforce the quarantine. What is clear is it is illegal to move firewood (along with plenty of other bio stuff (trees, brush, leaves, logs . . .) around here now.
http://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Protect/PlantIndustry/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Protect/PlantIndustry/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx

I imagine there are plenty of other places around the US, especially here in the North East where individual cities, townships, counties, and states are enacting quarantines due to various infestations. Just curious, how are you who sell, give away, collect, scrounge, and/or move wood dealing with these laws?

FWIW, my township is still not under quarantine, but that likely won't last even through the end of this season. I am recommending delivery as soon as possible to my regulars.

Thanks

 

[farmer steve]

being in the fruit and produce business as well as firewood i have been following this closely. i'm afraid this will go the same way as the emerald ash borer when they first found it in PA and tried to quarantine movement of firewood. they say the SL will even lay eggs on a BBQ grill. black walnut is another wood under restrictions in SE PA. i had a PA Dept. of ag guy stop one day while i was splitting and asked if i had any walnut. not sure what direction to tell you to go except be aware of quarantine boundaries and know where your wood is coming from.here's a link to more stuff from PA.http://dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/insectsdisease/index.htm

 

[Guswhit]

Not to throw anymore confusion into the mix than is already there, but I have 2 stories about this type of thing.
1st, I supply firewood bundles for 3 parks that the wood comes from within one of the parks(it is almost 3,000 acres). It gets cut, split and wrapped in this park, but then the wonderful Corps of Eng, rangers load it up in their trucks and delivery it to the other parks, 1 of which is across state lines. I guess it depends on who you are.
2nd, Iowa logging company comes across bridge to Illinois, hauling out saw logs right back across the bridge with no issues. 2 of the workers go over to the landing in Illinois on a weekend and cut/split and load 2 trucks and small trailers worth of firewood out of the limbs of what they had been logging. Loaded they proceed home, back across the bridge to Iowa(only about 12 miles). DNR guy happens to be working late in the afternoon and catches them coming off the bridge. written citations issued to each guy, must appear in court and turns them around to send them back across the bridge with the loads of wood. Its going to be interesting to see how this one turns out. You just can't get a straight answer from anyone on what is/is not correct.

 

[kyle1!]

No quarantine is going to stop the spread of any insect pest that is mobile. Can you slow it down yes but to think that regulations/quarantines are going to work is foolish.

 

[dave_dj1]

Around here as long as it's 4' long or longer it's not considered firewood but logs so it's OK to move it across state lines.

 

[Jere39]

I'm not suggesting any of you should have plowed your way through the linked document, but if you had, and managed to stick with it through to the near end, the crux of the quarantine is :

"
Industries and regulated articles under the quarantine that are not to be removed/moved to a new area are:

• Any living stage of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula. This includes egg masses, nymphs, and adults.
• Brush, debris, bark, or yard waste
• Landscaping, remodeling or construction waste
• Logs, stumps, or any tree parts
• Firewood of any species
• Grapevines for decorative purposes or as nursery stock
• Nursery stock
• Crated materials
• Outdoor household articles including recreational vehicles, lawn tractors and mowers, mower decks, grills, grill and furniture covers, tarps, mobile homes, tile, stone, deck boards, mobile fire pits, any associated equipment and trucks or vehicles not stored indoors.

"

Kind of suggests that just about anything including logs, or any tree parts. In fact the last bullet suggests you can't move stones, tractors, atv's, trucks or vehicles, mobile homes, grills, fire pits, or "Outdoor household articles" which based on the time I personally spend in the woods might include me!

 

[mga]

here in NYS you can download a permit to fill out:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/selfisscert.pdf

as long as it's not over 50 miles.

 

[Full Chisel]

Typical governmental overreach with good intention that will solve nothing in the end.

 

[svk]

No quarantines by where I normally cut. But have hauled into an EAB quarantine area. I had my buddy get written clarification on the rules from the state forestry before we hauled to his house.

In our case you can haul any species of wood into the quarantine zone but you cannot haul any wood out of the zone (even if it was harvested outside of the zone).