The state Department of Environmental Conservation has started actively looking for people transporting firewood and has set up two checkpoints along roads in the Adirondacks.
In the 10-day period leading up to Monday, the DEC found 47 people with firewood. One person received a ticket for transporting firewood more than 50 miles without certification that it was heat treated. In addition, 22 people received verbal warnings and one person received a written warning for transporting firewood less than 50 miles without certification of the source of the firewood.
"While we are pleased that only one of the 47 people with firewood had transported it more than 50 miles, more than half the people checked did not have a certification of the source of their firewood," Capt. Larry Didonato of the Environmental Conservation Police said in a press release. "People must carry the certification or risk receiving a ticket. DEC must prevent the spread of forest invasive insects and protect the Adirondack forests."
Firewood was confiscated from the people receiving tickets and written warnings. The firewood was chipped on site for disposal to prevent the potential spread of invasive insects. Firewood transport certificates were provided to people receiving verbal warnings for future use.
It is illegal to transport firewood more than 50 miles from its source, and the owner must have documentation to show where it came from. Firewood brought into the state must be heat treated. The rules were put in place to help stop the spread of tree-killing beetles such as the emerald ash borer, which has devastated ash trees in the Midwest and is spreading in New York.
The emerald ash borer has been found in Orange, Erie, Cattaraugus, Steuben, Ulster, Monroe, Genesee, Livingston and Greene counties. It has not been found in any of the counties in or around the Adirondack Park.