In communities across Vermont trees are marked with orange ribbons and tags exhorting everyone to “Protect This Tree, leave firewood at home”.

During the week of May 17-23, citizens considered this request as Vermont celebrated the important role local firewood plays in protecting our trees.  The goals of Firewood Awareness Week were to draw attention to the risks of moving firewood; to feature the social, economic, environmental, and personal impacts of invasive pests; and to educate the public about the upcoming state quarantine regulating the movement of firewood into Vermont.  When the dust settled at the end of the week, 450 ash trees had been tagged at rest areas, campgrounds, and trailheads throughout Vermont;  4 rest area blitzes had been hosted by 13 staff and volunteers; over 18,000 people were reached through social media; and that was just the beginning!

Firewood Awareness Week preceded the Memorial Day weekend, the official start of camping season in Vermont. Trees are vital to most of the places that campers come to enjoy, but many of those trees are at risk from invasive tree pests, such as the emerald ash borer (EAB).  The emerald ash borer is native to Asia and feeds on ash trees, killing nearly 100% of the trees they attack.  Since its detection in 2002, we have watched the emerald ash borer relentlessly march its way into at least twenty five US states and two Canadian provinces. Far too often this pest’s march has looked more like a hop, skip, and a jump as evidenced by its detection in Boulder County Colorado, over 600 miles from the nearest known infestation in north eastern Kansas.  Research has clearly shown that this unnatural dispersal pattern is due to humans aiding the pest’s spread, largely through the transportation of firewood. 

Unfortunately, the emerald ash borer is not the only tree-killing pest that can be spread in firewood.  The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) feeds on over twelve different kinds of trees, including sugar maples, and can be easily moved in firewood by an unwitting camper.

But the call to buy and burn only locally sourced firewood has been growing stronger, through campaigns like Firewood Awareness Week, and many other efforts by organizations throughout the country.  Buying local firewood is becoming a new environmental ethic, like recycling, or conserving water.

Highlights from Vermont’s Firewood Awareness Week include:

• 450 host trees (which include maple, ash, birch, and poplar) tagged at 14 rest areas, 12 state parks, 1 federal campground, and 2 trailheads throughout Vermont.
• Four Rest Area Blitzes hosted at the Wiliston Northbound Information Center, Sharon Welcome Center, Fair Haven Welcome Center, and Bennington Welcome Center.
• Over 500 visitors to Vermont’s rest areas entertained by Gwen the EAB and Smokey the Bear, telling them to Buy It Where You Burn It at the rest area blitzes.
• One Across the Fence Show aired – Click here to view the episode!
• Over 18,200 people engaged through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts
• Don’t Move Firewood PSAs played on at least 5 community access TV stations, serving 47 towns across Vermont.
• Over seven newspaper and newsletter articles published about the Awareness Week and an op-ed by Steve Sinclair, Director of Forests for Vermont’s Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation.
• Three Front Porch Forum posts shared in at least ten Vermont communities.

Firewood Awareness Week was hosted by UVM Extension, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation; Vermont Agency of Agriculture; USDA/APHIS; and U.S. Forest Service.  Mollie Klepack, UVM Extension Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, may be contacted at mollie.klepack@uvm.edu or 656-7746.

Article by Mollie Klepack, UVM Extension

Photo Credit: Emilie Inoue, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets