This morning I was at Five Rivers for the start of a new season of volunteer instructor training.
While new volunteers got the lowdown on basics for teaching outdoors, the rest of us were given a presentation on invasive species. The main focus was the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) which is becoming quite a scourge in some areas of New York and in many other states. It chews its way up and down ash trees and kills them. It's difficult to detect until the damage has already been done, and it's pretty well impossible to eradicate. Ultimately (our presenter from the Forest Health Diagnostic Lab sadly predicted) EAB will most likely wipe out at least 95% of this region's ash trees.
The main cause of the spread of EAB is human movement, particularly human movement of firewood. To slow EAB's progress (and perhaps give environmental scientists enough time to find a way of halting it altogether) laws have been introduced to prevent people from transporting untreated firewood beyond a 50 mile radius. So, if you're planning on camping in New York State or quite a few other places in the USA, reckon on buying your firewood at the campsite - bring your own and you could end up paying a hefty fine and/or spending a couple of weeks in jail.
If you're interested, there's a whole lot more about the regulations (and the reasons for them) here. Read to the end and you may be relieved to discover that it is absolutely fine to transport Christmas trees as far and wide as you want.
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