Do you bring your own firewood to camp?

[Do you bring your own firewood to camp?]

Do you bring your own firewood to camp?

yes, always enough for the whole vacation

 4 (40%)

yes, but just a few logs, and then we buy local

 2 (20%)

No, we always buy local

 4 (40%)

Other

 0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 10

Voting closed: September 14, 2009, 12:51:20 PM

[Thats Camping!]

There is a huge problem with Asian longhorn beetles invading trees in New England.

Did you know that New Hampshire and Vermont are now banning wood from out of state sources, so they can combat the problem?

From Wikipedia:
The Asian Longhorn Beetle is considered an invasive species in North America, where it is a serious threat to many species of deciduous hardwood trees. During the larval stage, the ALB bores deep into a tree's heartwood, where it feeds on the tree's nutrients. The tunneling damages and eventually kills the tree. Tree species considered ALB host species include all species of maple (Norway, sugar, silver, and red maple) as well as Horse chestnut, Poplar, Willow, Birch, London plane, Mountain ash, Mimosa (silk tree),Elm and Hackberry.

If you remember, the city of Worcester, MA had a very serious issue with the beetles, and a quarantine was issued to carefully remove the affected trees. The problem is spreading to other New England states and we all have to do our part.

Do not move firewood to new locations. Buy it where you'll burn it!

Also check out:
http://www.dontmovefirewood.org/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105438580

We have always brought our own firewood on camping vacations, but not anymore. Even though the firewood might look safe, it's best to just leave it at home. It's not that expensive to purchase wood locally where you'll be camping, and that's what we're going to do this season!

[GaryWT]

We have wood that has been on our site for a few years and once in awhile we bring some from home.  We can buy cord or 1/2 cord and have it delivered if we want, might have to do that but we are trying to use up the older wood.

[Thats Camping!]

I don't think it's a problem if the wood has been there, as long as it didn't originate from the Worcester area.

If you listen to the NPR audio article, they are even concerned about wood from 10+ years ago, especially if it originated in Worcester. A man from Worcester also has a place up north in NH; they are searching through all the wood on his NH property to make sure it's safe, even though the wood was brought up many many years ago, it's still dangerous.

It's crazy!

[mdcamping]

I use to load up my old truck with campfire wood ( had more room ) but for the most part I been buying locally.  Though some times I'll have a extra bundle left over from a camping trip that I would recycle to the next trip.

Mike

[NewEnglandCamper]

Buying local these days. Last year we did get some from a different location.  I assume local means within the same town or county of the campground?

There are lots of mom and pop places which offer a considerable discount on wood. However I am finding most of it is buggy (with ants) so we burn all of it vs. store it in our camper for the next trip.

I think this is going to be hard to enforce as I see lots of campers (both in the past and future) bring their own wood from Mass.

[wersilly]

For us, it depends on the trip.  If it is local, we usually bring enough for our trip.  If the trip is out of state or quite a distance, we will buy local.  We burn everything we bring or buy, we don't transport it home.  There have been restrictions in PA for quite some time because of the Asian Long Horned Beetle and also another pest an Emerald Ash Borer Beetle.

[bowcamper]

I broached this subject with our resident wood man, my husband.  At the risk of throwing a stick here I will reveal his comment:  He said, "but you're burning the wood...".. and the insects and their eggs, right?  We keep the wood within our pickup and remove it only to add to the fire.  If we were seasonal with a pile of wood, that may contribute to this blight, but we're not. I wonder just how much actual research into transient camping contributes here. I just hope that this doesn't become another regulated item that would penalize and force another expenditure to the vacation.

[Thats Camping!]

Good question, Bowcamper. I thought the same thing.

I assume the bugs can still fly out of the wood while traveling and while it's sitting in the truck. It might be a good question for one of the experts. I will try to find an official answer.

And don't think it hasn't affected us personally. We are bummed. We have a huge stack of pine wood out back. We don't burn pine in the wood stove in the house, so we were ready to bring it up camping this summer. It's going to be a huge step for my husband NOT to load any of that wood into our truck to bring on vacation.

But it's the right thing to do, buying local. I don't want to see all of our gorgeous New England forests disappear 10 or 20 years from now. (I think the scientists are on top of the problem as soon as it happens, so hopefully it will never come to that.)

It's a small expense to buy local wood, compared to the millions it costs to eradicate the problem later. And either way, it's coming out of our pocket!

And to answer Bob's concern on enforcement. Yes, it is hard to enforce I suppose, but that is why everyone is trying to spread the word about the problem. If enough people hear about it and heed the request NOT to bring firewood to camp, then that is half the battle.

And hopefully campgrounds will also help in getting the word out BEFORE it becomes a problem like in so many of the other areas of the Northeast.

But there will always be campers who just don't care and will do what they want regardless.

And Bowcamper, thanks for your question. I am going to see if I can find an answer.

[Thats Camping!]

Bowcamper, if you read this brochure (PDF) I think you will see that it's very possible to carry these beetles by truck to new areas.

http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/walb.pdf (it's a pdf, so your pdf reader will open and read it)

Read page 14 - 2nd column in particular. How the beetle initially spread back in 1996-1998.

[Max Fox]

The ban is only for state and White Mtn. campgrounds. Private campgrounds are voluntary so check their policy.
 I think that knowing your wood source is more important right now. Maybe if campgrounds and local wood suppliers would stop ripping people off on camp wood it would help us all.

[wersilly]

Yes, Max Fox, I agree, the campground prices for wood are outrageous.  We go through a good amount of wood while we are camping...We always cook dinner over the fire and usually lunch too.  We would spend a fortune on wood if we bought it at the campstore.  My husband packs wood in Rubbermaid totes, and we easily go through a tote a night.  So, that is why we bring our own unless we are traveling a far distance, then we will buy someplace near the campground.

[Thats Camping!]

Thank you very much for the clarification Max Fox!

[Lucas874]

(That's Camping admin merged with the previous topic on the same subject)

I just came inside after an afternoon of cutting and splitting about a 1/2 cord of campfire wood.  I am curious...do most of you process your own firewood or purchase it at or around the campground?

[NewEnglandCamper]

I buy it local (and support the Don't Move Firewood program); there is a big push these days to keep wood in its designated area due to invasive bugs...

Although I do have to admit that I am frustrated with the quality of the local firewood.  Good topic.

[Thats Camping!]

(Merged with the previous topic on the same subject)

We had only a handful of fires this year, but we used the (3 hr) natural firelogs you buy at the store in a multipack box. the kind that are individually wrapped...anyway, they worked great alone and also with logs we found at the campsite.

I did notice a problem when we used two logs at once, there was a strong "waxy" smell, and it actually smelled bad enough for me to leave and go back in the RV. But when only one is used, it's much better.

I do wonder (and I am going to have to do some more research) if they really are as "all natural" as they say. I don't know the brand we used offhand, (have to look at the box) but I do wonder about the hazards, if any.

But no, we don't bring our own wood camping anymore, because of the beetle problem.