By Staff
LANSING – Hunters hoping to bag a whitetail deer this firearm season may be breaking the law if they are bringing hardwood firewood from home to their hunting camps.
Hunters are reminded to not move hardwood firewood this hunting season to help stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).
EAB, an exotic beetle native to Asia, is responsible for the death or damage of 25 million ash trees in Michigan. EAB larvae live and feed undetected beneath the bark of ash trees, making any piece of ash firewood a potential vehicle for the accidental transport of the insect. Firewood that may appear un-infested could be carrying EAB larvae under the bark.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) will be stepping up vehicle inspections at the Mackinac Bridge in an effort to prevent hardwood firewood from entering the Upper Peninsula. The inspection station helps support the state's EAB interior quarantine by inspecting and restricting movement of regulated articles into the Upper Peninsula.
"Hunters are urged to use local sources of firewood, burn all they purchase, and not take any unused firewood back home or to their next location," said Don Koivisto, MDA director. "Many infestations in Michigan and surrounding states have been a direct result of people inadvertently moving infested firewood."
Individuals or businesses found violating the state's EAB quarantine are subject to fines ranging from $1,000 to $250,000 and jail time of up to five years for moving regulated materials, including firewood.
Additional information about EAB and a map of the quarantine boundaries are available at www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info.