Don't Bring Out of State Firewood to Iowa Parks and Forests

DES MOINES - While thousands of Iowans will be camping and building campfires over the Labor Day holiday as a farewell to summer, state forestry officials are urging visitors and campers not to bring out of state firewood into Iowa state parks and forests.

"Transporting firewood from out of state sources could threaten the health of our ash trees by spreading the dreaded emerald ash borer that lives in ash firewood," said John Walkowiak, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources forestry bureau.

Forestry experts in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and most recently Illinois are in a battle against the "emerald ash borer," a tiny green beetle that was accidentally introduced to the U.S. from Asia. Since its discovery in 2002, the insect has killed more than 20 million ash trees in the lower peninsula of Michigan, northern Indiana, and northern Ohio alone. "Within the last month, emerald ash borer has been found in three Chicago metro areas. The borer attacks all species of native ash, green, white and black ash and all associated landscape cultivars," Walkowiak said. "Ash trees are common in our forests, and have been heavily used in urban landscapes, perhaps totaling one in every five trees in a typical Iowa city.

"To date, continuing joint trap tree work and survey efforts by Iowa DNR and Iowa State University Extension Entomology have not found emerald ash borer in Iowa," Walkowiak said. "There is no reason to remove ash trees or to do any type of chemical treatments for a pest that has yet to be found. But, by reducing the movement of out of state firewood to Iowa public camping areas we can minimize the risk of accidental introduction of an unwanted pest such as emerald ash borer.

"Wisconsin and Illinois have recently banned bringing out of state firewood into their state parks as the concern of emerald ash borer coming from Michigan," he said.. Walkowiak urged travelers to emerald ash borer infected states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio not to bring back firewood from those states to Iowa. "Plenty of firewood is available locally at your favorite state or county parks. Lastly, make sure you burn all of your firewood at your campsite and not leave it or transport to a new area."

For more information about emerald ash borer go to www.emeraldashborer.org.

For more information, contact Walkowiak at 515-242-5966 or by e-mail at john.walkowiak@dnr.state.ia.us