Hunters, if the supply list for your trip up north this deer season includes firewood, cross it off right now.
Instead, wait until you get there to buy it local, or pick up some certified firewood on the way. That’s because it is sometimes illegal and always a bad idea to move firewood from county to county, unless it’s certified by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Firewood can carry pests and diseases in the form of gypsy moth egg masses, emerald ash borer larvae and the fungus that causes oak wilt. It could even harbor pests and diseases we have not yet detected in Wisconsin.
Brian Kuhn, director of the Plant Industry Bureau in the DATCP says that “Gypsy moth poses a broad threat, attacking hundreds of different tree and shrub species. Emerald ash borers attack only ash trees in Wisconsin, but ash provides wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits, lines the streets in many communities, and is one of our highest-value woods, accounting for many of our timber exports.”
