Campfire wood - Wisconsin state parks FYI

[IFallsRon]

WAUSAU, Wis. — The state has banned the burning of firewood at its campgrounds unless the wood was grown within 50 miles of the site, and rangers have surprised some campers by confiscating wood they hauled from home, a state parks administrator said Wednesday.

The ban designed to stop diseases such as the emerald ash borer counters a long Wisconsin tradition of campers bringing their own logs for cozy evening campfires.

“People should just start getting used to not hauling firewood anywhere because there are so many different pests now and on the horizon,” said Bruce Chevis, state parks operations manager for the Department of Natural Resources. “There is just going to come a day when firewood isn’t hauled.”

This weekend’s long Memorial Day holiday marks the beginning of summer and virtually all the 4,662 camping sites in state parks and forests are booked, Chevis said.

Still, Chevis said he expected most campers to follow the new rule, given the advertising blitz to get the word out. The DNR mailed 110,000 postcards to families that camped in state parks a year ago, telling them of the new firewood regulation.

A survey found last year that 43 percent of campers traveled more than 50 miles to pitch their tents at state campgrounds, Chevis said.

Roger LeBeau, a veteran camper from Green Bay, learned about the ban the hard way during a weekend trip to Clear Lake near Woodruff in early May.

A DNR warden seized five pieces of his campfire wood after LeBeau told him it came from the Waupaca area — about 130 miles away.

LeBeau, 49, said he knew wood from outside Wisconsin was banned, but he was unaware of the new 50-mile limit that went into effect in January.

“How do you argue with somebody with a .45-caliber on their hip?” LeBeau said, joking about the warden’s pistol. “I was surprised. Absolutely, I can live with it. Most people that camp enjoy nature. If this is what it takes, I don’t have a problem.”

The emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio since it was discovered near Detroit five years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

As of Wednesday, 60 bundles of illegal firewood had been seized from the 600 campers who used Peninsula State Park in Door County this season, Chevis said. A bundle, which sells for about $4 at most state campgrounds, is considered enough for one day’s campfire.

[Scott K]

ok, soo, the question I have is, what are the wardens doing with the wood? Are the stock piling it? Wouldnt be safer to just tell the campers they need to burn it now, incase there is bugs in it? Im sure the cos take it store somewhere, then resell it! If there was bugs in it, wouldnt be safer to just burn it as soon as possible?

[BLACKJACK]

Quote:

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A bundle, which sells for about $4 at most state campgrounds, is considered enough for one day’s campfire.

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Yeah, right. Feeding the public a line of talk so they can get a positive spin on it.