duluth-cisma@stewardshipnetwork.org
Looking forward to spring? Planning to go camping in a state park or forest? We need to be on the alert against invasive species carried in firewood. We can slow the spread of harmful tree-killing insects and disease by buying firewood close to where we burn it, buying Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) certified firewood, or gathering wood on site where permitted.
How to slow the spread of forest pests:
• Buy firewood at a state park to use in that park.
• Buy firewood certified by the MDA, which is supplied at many gas stations and big box stores. (See the image below).
• Buy local non-certified wood only if, it is not ash, and it was harvested in the same county where you will burn it. The county of harvest will be on the bundle label. Keep your receipt and bundle label to show where it came from.
• You can burn lumber scraps that are kiln-dried, unpainted, unstained, and free of any metal or foreign substances. And you can burn manufactured logs and hardwood pellets.
You can’t burn the following on DNR land:
• Firewood from your home
• Firewood without a purchase receipt or bundle label
• Pallet wood, or lumber that is painted, stained, or contains metal or foreign materials
Collecting firewood in state parks is not allowed, but dead wood can be collected in state forests for a campfire. Certified firewood is dried or heat-treated in a kiln certified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Check the Minnesota Department of Agriculture firewood page for information on firewood and pest quarantines. https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/firewood-minnesota
