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Invasive-Free Firewood Certification Application

Invasive-Free Firewood Certification Application

Overview

The State of Michigan Invasive-Free Firewood Certification Program helps consumers identify high-quality firewood produced in an environmentally conscious way. Heat treating firewood is the only reliable way to ensure that invasive insects, pathogens and diseases are not spread with that firewood’s movement. Heat-treated firewood also burns cleaner and better than raw firewood.

This voluntary program is a cooperative effort by producers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture and Rural Development to meet consumer demand for invasive-free firewood. 

Once accepted into the State of Michigan Invasive-free Firewood Certification Program, participants may display the program’s icon on their labels and advertising. This will signal to consumers that the firewood has been heat-treated to improve its burnability and to protect Michigan’s parks, forests and home landscapes from tree-killing invasive species. 

Program Requirements

  • Firewood must be heat treated in a kiln to 140°F and held at that temperature for 60 minutes, as evidenced by the results of an annual kiln inspection administered by MDARD, USDA or other states with a heat-treated firewood program that can provide a kiln test read-out that shows the kiln reached and held the minimum temperature for participation in Michigan’s program.
  • Incoming firewood and heat-treated firewood must be stored in such a way as to make separation of the two obvious and easy to recognize. Sufficient separation requires a physical barrier that does not contain any hosts for forest pests (e.g., a cement enclosure) or clearly marked areas of the facility where there is no possibility of incoming and heat-treated firewood coming into contact with each other.
  • After heat-treatment, firewood must be stored in a dry and covered place with no vegetation.

Applicant Info

Before You Begin

This application cannot be saved and completed later. Before starting, please review the entire application to familiarize yourself with the required information and attachments. To avoid losing your progress, make sure you have all necessary information and files available before you begin. Once you start, plan to complete and submit the application in one session.

You will be asked for a map of your facility. Here are maps of an example firewood kiln interior and an example firewood production facility.

All fields are required, unless labeled as (optional).

I understand and acknowledge that as a participant in the State of Michigan Certified Invasive-Free Firewood Program, my business will be identified as a program participant and placed on the MDARD website unless I notify the department in writing that I do not want my business identified on the site.