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Forestry Firewood Policy
The firewood policy was implemented on March 30, 2002.
| The goal of the firewood policy is to prevent the entry and control the
spread of quarantine pests and to limit any damage to our forests.
Firewood is known for carrying insects and plant diseases
which could easily be spread through its movement. A number of quarantine pests are
invasive species and threaten our forests. Many of these are able to reproduce and
disperse quickly in a broad range of habitats. They have a capacity to adapt to new
environments where they aggressively compete for food and space. |
 Scott Dunlop,
CFIA |
 Photo courtesy
of Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources |
Stressed (weakened) trees and forests are often more susceptible to pest
attack and have the highest risk for infestation. A tree can naturally become stressed
through environmental factors such as fire, wind, ice, flood, drought and climate change,
as well as through indigenous insect and disease damage. These trees are often used for
firewood purposes. When firewood is collected from these areas the invasive pests will be
again introduced into new areas and threaten our vast resource of deciduous and coniferous
species. When a tree is weakened, it can attract many different types of pests such as
bark beetles and deep wood boring insects that come to feed, shelter and reproduce.
Help protect Canada’s forests and natural resources by following the mandatory
guidelines set in our firewood policy.
For additional details, please consult the CFIA firewood policy D-01-12 or contact a CFIA Forestry Specialist.
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Importing Firewood?
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| The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has consolidated existing
firewood policies into one commodity-based policy regulating the movement of all species
of firewood from all areas of the world. The objective of the policy is to mitigate the
risk of introduction and spread of quarantine pests by controlling both the import of
firewood into Canada and the domestic movement of firewood from regulated areas within
Canada. Under the policy, the import of uncertified firewood into
Canada will be prohibited.
Since March 30, 2002, Canadian firewood importers require a permit to import. With appropriate documentation
and certification, firewood originating from the United States and other countries will be
permitted entry into Canada from pest free areas, areas of identical pest distributions or
after approved treatment. |
Firewood and
Domestically Regulated Pests
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| Within Canada, existing CFIA Plant Protection policies are in
effect to strictly control the movement of firewood from regulated areas
of Canada. The following quarantine pests are regulated to prevent further spread:
Take extreme care if you are moving firewood from a regulated area, you may be
transporting a quarantine pest. |
Publications
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| Posters: Domestic
Movement of Firewood Poster | Importation
of Firewood Poster Policy: D-01-12 ( HTML / PDF) Phytosanitary Requirements for
the Importation and Domestic Movement of Firewood.
List of firewood species: English, French, Latin |
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