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Discover the importance of using local firewood to avoid spreading harmful forest pests. The Don’t Move Firewood campaign is an outreach partnership managed by The Nature Conservancy. The overarching goal of the campaign is to protect trees and forests all across North America from invasive insects and diseases that can travel in or on contaminated firewood. The central tenet of the Don’t Move Firewood campaign is that everyone has a role to play in slowing the spread of invasive tree killing insects and diseases, through making better informed firewood choices. For more information on how you can do your part, please see Frequently Asked Questions.

• Firewood Month Toolkit -- During Firewood Month (October), reduce firewood movement to slow the spread of forest pests and diseases via the firewood pathway.
• Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Weed Toolkit -- During Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week (May 19-26, 2024) everyone is encouraged to take a few minutes to learn about the signs and symptoms of emerald ash borer infestation on ash trees so that the infestations can be better managed by local tree professionals and foresters.

On Monday April 8, 2024, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in a roughly 115 mile wide swath (called the path of totality) crossing North America as it passes over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Millions of travelers are expected to camp out over the weekend so they can be in the best viewing area on Monday to see the amazing spectacle of a complete solar eclipse. The Nature Conservancy is asking everyone that plans to use firewood for the solar eclipse celebration weekend to buy local firewood near their destination, bring packaged certified heat-treated firewood, or gather their firewood responsibly on site if permitted by the campground or landowner.

 Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week is in May each year. Provides outreach materials for EAB EAB Awareness Week.

The Firewood Outreach Toolbox includes a quick reference list of customize-ready outreach materials, targeted groups outreach list, videos, and logo use instructions.
See also: Outreach resources for professionals related to Forest Pest and Pathogens

The Don't Move Firewood campaign will be hosting a few live webinars during Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Awareness Week (May 20-26, 2024).  Webinars will be recorded and available for registrants.
See related resource: Don't Move Firewood

October is Firewood Month! Learn about firewood rules and how moving firewood hurts our environment and economy by spreading invasive species. Provides specific state information on their firewood regulations and recommendations (includes Canada and Mexico).

This site was initially created by the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation and Development Council through funding from the USDA Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center. In 2019, Firewood Scout's management and operations were transferred to the Sustainable Resources Institute, a non profit corporation specializing in natural resource research, education, training and certification. Today, Firewood Scout continues to add new partnering states and to spread the message of "Buy your firewood where you plan to burn it!"

A cozy campfire for summer days, a warm fireplace for winter evenings– the use of firewood is an "established cultural norm". However, moving firewood from place to place can have devastating consequences, as it can spread forest pests that decimate forests to collectively cost an estimated $4.2 – $14.4 billion per year. In order to better address the problem of people moving firewood and vectoring forest pests, Solano and colleagues examined trends and gaps in the existing literature on firewood and human-mediated forest pest movement in North America. The existing literature demonstrates the risk of firewood movement, but fails to address the level of awareness the public has on such risks, or the level of effectiveness of firewood regulations to prevent forest pest spread.

In an attempt to limit the transfer of pests across state lines in firewood, these guidelines provide information on the process of drafting new or revising current state-based regulations pertaining to firewood, share case studies of states that have already approached firewood quarantines, provide examples of strategies beyond regulation that could enhance a state’s overall response to the firewood pathway, and give selected recommendations or examples within these strategies.

Collaborative study determines effective messengers, language choices, and modes of delivery for disseminating educational information on how firewood choices can impact forest health. A recent study done in collaboration between The Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood campaign and researchers from Clemson University showed that most people in the U.S. don’t know firewood can harbor invasive forest insects and diseases, but when targeted education materials are used effectively, they can learn and are likely to change their behavior.