Current Articles
Browse Archives
Search
Contact Us
AUF Home
ISA Seal
Get Acrobat Reader

Arboriculture & Urban Forestry Online
Volume 37, Issue 3 — May 2011
https://www.isa-arbor.com/Publications/Arboriculture-Urban-Forestry

Firewood Transport by National and State Park Campers: A Risk for Native or Exotic Tree Pest Movement    (View PDF)

W.R. Jacobi, B.A. Goodrich, and C.M. Cleaver

Abstract: Untreated firewood has the potential to harbor insects or pathogens lethal to trees in urban and natural forest ecosystems. Campers at 15 campgrounds in seven Colorado, U.S., State Parks and 30 campgrounds in 13 National Parks in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming were surveyed in 2007-09 to determine camper home states, firewood presence, firewood state origins and risks of firewood harboring pests. Sixty-six percent of Colorado State Park campers had firewood but only 4% had firewood brought from out-of-state origins. Sixty percent of National Park campers had firewood and 39% had firewood from out of state, equating to 329,919 campers potentially bringing out-of-state firewood in one year to surveyed parks. Forty-one percent of out-of-state firewood was brought by campers from nonneighboring states, indicating long distance transport of firewood occurs. Of all firewood present in National Parks, 32% was purchased inside the park, 25% was purchased outside the park and 17% was from camper residences. Fifty-three percent of firewood had evidence of previous insect presence and 39% had fungal infestation. Camper movement of untreated firewood has the potential to be a high risk pathway for distribution of live tree pests throughout North America, and educational and mitigation actions should be implemented.

Keywords: Campgrounds; Exotic Pests; Firewood; Invasive Pests; National Parks; Pathway Risk Analysis; State Parks; Unprocessed Wood; Urban Pests

https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2011.017


Current Articles | Browse Archives | Search | AUF Home | ISA Home | Get Acrobat