Statewide restrictions on firewood will continue

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Wisconsin will continue its present restrictions on the movement of firewood and material from ash trees, to try-and-prevent the emerald ash borer from spreading.

The state Agriculture Department said yesterday it would not join the federal government in loosening its regulations. The U.S. Animal-and-Plant Health Inspection Service said it would allow unrestricted interstate movements of ash trees, nursery stock, and firewood within a national quarantine area starting July first. But Brian Kuhn of state ag department said his agency would still not allow out-of-state firewood to come in. He said many campers from the Chicago area visit southeast Wisconsin, where the ash borer has taken the biggest hold. Kuhn said the federal changes were necessitated by limited funding from Washington. And if Wisconsin adopted them, he said Illinois campers could bring infected firewood to places where very few ash borers have turned up. And Kuhn said Wisconsin cannot afford that risk.

The quarantines require ash trees and nursery stock to be certified as being bug-free before they can be moved. Present firewood restrictions will continue. State rules ban the movement of firewood from 25 miles away onto state campsites. And campers are encouraged to buy their firewood locally.

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