Firewood Laws Now in Affect Across New York

Did you know that there are numerous laws on the books in New York State regarding the firewood you use to heat your home?

As the cooler temperatures set in across New York, many of us in the Hudson Valley have already begun preparing to keep our homes nice and warm through the winter. If you are planning to heat your home with a wood-burning stove this year the folks at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) want to remind everyone that there are very specific rules you need to follow regarding the wood you are planning to use.

Getting Ready for Winter in New York

If you heat your home with a wood stove you've probably already begun mapping out what wood you will use this year to fire up the fireplace. The yearly "wood plan" is no small task depending on which way you choose to get your wood, right? As a kid who grew up in a house with wood stoves and fireplaces in the Catskill mountains, we would spend hour after hour working the wood splitter. If you never had to split wood the process would go like this, one person would load the logs and work the splitter handle pushing the wood towards the axe-like head. The other person would collect the split wood and begin to stack it. (My siblings and I would always fight over who did what...LOL!)

SEE ALSO: Upstate New York Apple Orchard Named Best in the U.S.

If you are planning to go another route to get your wood this year and buy it or bring it in from another part of New York make sure you don't break any laws when you do it.

Firewood Laws in New York

October is "firewood month" and the folks at the DEC are reminding all New Yorkers that there are rules when it comes to the wood you use to burn at home. The New York State Firewood Regulations pertain to "all species of wood, cut or not cut, split or not split, that is destined for use as fuel" according to the DEC website. The regulations are as follows:

• Untreated, NY-grown firewood must stay within a 50-mile radius of its source or origin.
• Untreated firewood may not be brought into NY from any other state.
• Heat-treated firewood can be transported anywhere in NY, but it must have a receipt or label that says, "New York Approved Heat-Treated Firewood/Pest-Free".

New York State Firewood Regulation

The New York State Firewood Regulation was put in place back in 2009 in New York to help prevent the spread of forest pests that could damage other trees and threaten the health of our forests because the wood could be hiding dangerous eggs, larvae, spores, adults, and seeds of invasive species according to the DEC.