Contributors

National Plant Board Firewood Work Group Contributors

The National Plant Board (NPB) Firewood Working Group was formed in 2018 to create a reference document containing organized and vetted firewood resources for states, as a result of conversations and concerns that emerged during the process of the USDA APHIS federal proposed rule to deregulate emerald ash borer (EAB). A number of State Plant Regulatory Officials (SPROs), and others, expressed the concern that in the absence of federal regulation of EAB there would be no or limited mechanisms for states to continue regulating the movement of firewood. The National Plant Board charged the NPB Firewood Working Group with developing a framework of activities for states to make well informed choices on how they can best prevent or reduce the movement of pests and pathogens on firewood.

The guidelines would not have been possible without all of the foundational efforts of many state, federal, university and private entities who have contributed to knowledge about movement of pests in firewood. These include research works referenced within the document, The Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood program, and state quarantines. Many states contributed input about their programs. States have had the opportunity to vet the accuracy of how their program is represented. The guidelines build upon the substantial efforts of the 2010 National Firewood Task Force Recommendation. Also reviewed during this process were the Firewood Survey Results and Report, and Communication Strategy documents developed by the Canadian Council on Invasive Species. Several persons provided personal comments and supplied references about heat treatment of firewood and wood disinfestation from insects and/or pathogens. These included: Mitchell Dykstra (USDA APHIS PPQ), Scott Myers (USDA APHIS PPQ), Robert Haack (USDA USFS, Retired), Toby Petrice (USDA USFS), Jennifer Juzwik (USDA USFS), and Adnan Uzunovic (FP Innovations, Canada).

Firewood Work Group Membership

Members of the NPB Firewood Working Group came from both small and large states, from states with established firewood programs and states considering a firewood quarantine, states with emerald ash borer and/or Asian longhorned beetle and states without detections of these pests, and represented states in the northeast, Midwest, south, and Pacific Northwest.

NameStateOrganizationRole
Allen, TimWisconsinDept. Agriculture, Trade and Consumer ProtectionMember
Beute-Glover, MaryTennesseeDept. AgricultureMember
Gibbs, AnnMaineDept. Agriculture, Conservation & ForestryCo-chair
Greenwood, LeighNationalThe Nature Conservancy, Forest Health ProgramMember
Henstridge, PaulaNationalUSDA APHIS PPQMember
Hildebrandt, StephenFloridaDept. Agriculture and Consumer ServicesMember
Katz, Lora E.NationalUSDA APHIS PPQModerator
Kenny, DanOhioDept. AgricultureMember
Rogg, HelmuthOregonDept. AgricultureMember
Self, AnniTennesseeDept. AgricultureMember
Shearer, StevenNationalUSDA APHIS PPQModerator
Shields, JonathonOhioDept. AgricultureMember
Siegert, PieraNew HampshireDept. Agriculture, Markets & FoodCo-chair

Firewood Guidelines External Reviewers

Following development of the guidelines, five external reviewers were asked to review the draft guidelines for the applicability, relevance, and thoroughness of the content. These reviews were not of the final product, rather they were used to determine if the Firewood Work Group was meeting expectations and to determine if content should be added or removed.

NameStateOrganizationRegional Plant Board
Bolton, HerbertNationalUSDA APHIS PPQNA
Bronsky, KathrynNationalUSDA APHIS PPQNA
Collins, JoeKentuckyUniversity of Kentucky, Dept. EntomologySPB
Gianino, DavidVirginiaDept. Agriculture & Consumer ServicesSPB
McDonald, JoshuaCaliforniaDept. Food & AgricultureWPB
Rhodes, DanaPennsylvaniaDept. AgricultureEPB
Van Meter, JulieNebraskaDept. AgricultureCPB