DNR to study possible firewood ban from 10 mile radius to state property

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Wisconsin campers could face tighter restrictions on the firewood they can bring into state parks and forests. DNR staffers will ask the Natural Resources Board on October 24th to ban all firewood on state property that comes from at least 10 miles away.

Firewood is one of the main carriers of the tree-killing emerald ash borer, which has been found in several new locations in Wisconsin this year. Right now, firewood is banned on state property if it comes from at least 25 miles away, or anywhere outside Wisconsin. And the wood must be certified as being treated for diseases. The D-N-R’s proposal would drop the out-of-state ban, saying the tighter 10-mile limit makes the ban unnecessary.

If the DNR Board endorses the new rules, a draft would get public hearings before it goes back to the panel for final approval.

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First, it was the emerald ash borer, now another tree-killing disease has Wisconsin foresters worried. Oak wilt has reportedly started moving into the Badger State. That fungus has been in the U.S. for almost a century, but had mostly been found only in southern states. It hasn’t been located in a Wisconsin county to this point. Oak wilt cuts off the tree’s water supply, killing the tree within a few weeks.

Tags: outdoors