Firewood Permit Reminders
Salmon, ID, September, 2003 - Firewood gathering
season is upon us! The nights are cool, the days are getting shorter
and the woods are abuzz with the sound of chainsaws. The Salmon-Challis
National Forest has been selling an increased number of firewood permits
each week. Sales peak on Fridays during the months of September and
October.
With more and more people in the woods gathering firewood,
some violations of the conditions of the permits are being observed.
Some common violations include:
-
Dropping trees onto a roadway without a spotter.
If at all possible, dropping trees across or onto a road should
be avoided. If it is the only way the tree can be safely fallen
then a spotter should be positioned in a safe place to alert oncoming
vehicles of the hazard.
-
Leaving slash (tree limbs and tops) in the roadway
or in the barrow ditches. Branches in the roadway can puncture tires
and if a tip of a branch is driven over the other end may swing
up and hit the vehicle-or the elbow of the driver. Slash that is
left in a barrow ditch can interfere with the design of the ditch
and may allow water to flow onto the road surface. This creates
erosion to the road surface and could result in additional maintenance
costs to repair the road. All slash should be scattered after the
tree is cut.
-
Forgetting to record amounts of wood cut and loaded
on the Product Quantity Removal Record on page 2 of your permit.
This section needs to be completed in ink before you move from the
area where you gathered the wood.
-
Failure to attach load tickets to the rear of your
load before moving. These are the "tags" and are in increments
of ¼ cords. They need to be securely attached and clearly
visible from the rear of the vehicle.
-
Failure to completely notch the month and day on
the firewood tags.
-
Using mechanized equipment for skidding trees and
log lengths from the woods. If you are in question about what constitutes
mechanized equipment please call local Forest Service office to
explain what you have in mind.
-
Cutting a standing or down dead tree within 300
feet of a stream, lake, pond or boggy area. Although three hundred
feet may seem like a long distance away from the water it is not
a random distance. It corresponds with federal rulings regarding
protection of the endangered Chinook salmon.
-
Falling trees across a stream/or dragging a dead
log through a stream. If you are in compliance with the 300 foot
distance away from streams condition, this condition should not
be a problem to abide by.
-
Failure to abide by the Forest travel plan. It
is your responsibility to know the restrictions concerning motorized
travel described on the maps.
"Don't forget to read and follow the conditions
outlined in your firewood permit." says Bill Schuckert, Forest
Vegetation Management Coordinator. "The conditions are there
to ensure public safety and to protect natural resources. We want
everyone to have a positive experience gathering firewood from the
National Forest."
For more information about firewood permits please call
your local Forest Service Office.
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