It’s already against regulations to bring untreated firewood from other states onto state lands and the Green Mountain National Forest, but a proposed rule would impose a statewide ban on transporting firewood into Vermont.
Barbara Schultz, forest health program manager at the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, says the idea is to slow the spread of invasive insects that threaten native trees. Often their spread is aided by humans.
“They may spread on their own but that takes time. These insects are not good flyers, some insects barely fly at all. It requires human intervention a lot to move these non-native pests,” says Schultz.
Of particular concern are the Asian longhorn beetle and emerald ash borer, but Schultz says the rule will also help impede the spread of “an insect or disease that we don’t even know occurs yet, because it does take years and sometimes decades for non-native pests to be detected.”
The ban would not include certified kiln dried firewood or wood chips and pellets.
Schultz says New Hampshire and New York firewood dealers who are located along the borders could apply for a waiver to deliver in Vermont.
The state is taking public comments on the proposed rule and will hold hearings on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Manchester Town Hall and Thursday, Jan. 7 at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury.
