Attention: Campers and Picnickers

Virginia’s Recently Enacted Firewood Quarantine (August 2008)

A firewood quarantine has been established for the following localities: counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Louden, and Prince William; and the entire cities of Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. It is unlawful to transport firewood from these localities. Firewood can harbor insect pests under the bark and in the wood. The transport of infested firewood has been identified as a leading cause in the introduction of harmful insect pests into un-infested forest areas.

“Why shouldn’t I bring in firewood from farther than 35 miles from the park?”

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a beetle from Asia, was discovered in 2002 in southeastern Michigan. Since that time, the beetle has successfully spread to parts of Canada, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia (2008), West Virginia, and Wisconsin. No native predators of the EAB are present in North America and spread of the beetle is difficult to control in natural settings.

The EAB feeds on ash trees with devastating results. As of 2005, the EAB is responsible for the death or decline of some 15 million ash trees in a 20-county area around Detroit.

Ash trees are a significant component of the Park’s forest. They occur (at some level) in many vegetation communities in the park. These communities make up 65% of the park’s acreage and white ash comprises 4% of the park's overall forest. The EAB has the ability to kill millions of ash trees just as the hemlock woolly adelgid has killed millions of hemlock trees in the eastern United States.

As a result, Shenandoah National Park has recently implemented a Firewood Movement Restriction Program. Our program requires that visitors and cooperators not bring in outside firewood (from greater than 35 miles away) into the park. This program is intended to reduce the transport of potentially infested firewood into the park and help to minimize the introduction of EAB and other non-native insect pests (e.g. sirex wood wasp). If you are planning to visit the park, firewood can be bought locally, or “dead and down” firewood can be collected within the park. For more information on the emerald ash borer, quarantine areas, and firewood movement restrictions, please visit:  

http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

Our objectives of our "Leave your Firewood at Home" program are to:

1) Educate visitors about the threat of EAB introduction and the alternatives to bringing in firewood from outside areas. Remember, firewood should be procured locally (e.g. firewood is available from the park concession, supermarkets, local campgrounds, etc.).  Note:  If you are gathering firewood from inside the park, all wood must be dead and down.

2) Minimize the threat of EAB introduction into Shenandoah National Park.

www.emeraldashborer.info/

Did you Know?

That certain areas within Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (all states where Emerald Ash Borer has been found) are currently under a federal firewood transport quarantine established by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is felt that EAB may be resident in the wood and could be spread through firewood transport to un-infested areas like Shenandoah National Park. 

How will things be different in the campgrounds and picnic areas?

Park staff will be doing informal surveys of visitors to find out if they have brought firewood with them from areas outside of 35 miles from the park. 

EAB pest information will be posted throughout park campgrounds and picnic areas. 

If park staff determines that a visitor has brought in firewood from outside of 35 miles from the park:

1) The Park staff will explain to the visitor the risks of EAB introduction and why we are concerned.

2) The park staff will reqire that the visitor burn his/her firewood onsite in their fire ring immediately.

It is imperative that these actions be taken quickly in order to minimize the possibility of EAB invading the Park.