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MADISON n In an effort to slow the spread of the emerald ash borer in Wisconsin, a number of counties are under a quarantine that makes it illegal to move uncertified hardwood firewood out of those counties. The movement of infested firewood is something that experts agree has dramatically influenced the extent of the EAB infestation in the United States.
Eleven counties are under the firewood ban this fall, including Brown, Crawford, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Vernon, Washington and Waukesha.
Hunters getting ready for Wisconsin’s annual gun-deer season are reminded that they cannot move hardwood firewood from any quarantine area to their deer camp unless they can prove that the firewood was bought from a DATCP-certified dealer, or that the firewood they are moving is from a coniferous tree species.
They can, however, move firewood within the state’s three distinct quarantine areas: two counties in southwest Wisconsin, Brown County, and an eight-county area in the southeast.
Links to a map of the state’s quarantine areas and a list of DATCP-certified firewood dealers can be found on the state’s EAB Web site,
www.emeraldashborer.wi.gov.
For those hunters camping on state-owned lands this year, the Department of Natural Resources prohibits bringing firewood onto any DNR property if the firewood came from more than 50 miles away or from out of state. This includes campsites in state parks and forests. DATCP-certified firewood is allowed on state lands.
The emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle native to Asia, has been responsible for the loss of millions of ash trees in the United States and Canada since its introduction. The beetle was first detected in Wisconsin in 2008.
For more information about EAB, visit
emeraldashborer.wi.gov.
Those who move hardwood firewood or other regulated materials out of the quarantine areas are subject to penalties ranging from $200 to $5,000 and six months in jail.
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