PRESCOTT AZ (February 25, 2013) – The Prescott National Forest will be offering a Free Use Fuel Wood Permit for the area south of Crown King, Arizona, beginning March 1, 2013. Trees killed by the Lane 2 and Gladiator fires are being felled and stacked along the roadside on Forest Roads 52 and 192. This free permit will allow permittees to gather up to four cords of dead and down fuelwood, which are primarily Ponderosa pine and a small amount of Douglas fir.
No standing trees may be cut with this permit.
The free permit will only be valid from March 1 through May 26, 2013, and only within 100 feet of the aforementioned roads. Please exercise extreme caution while traveling in this area, as tree falling operations may be in progress and fire killed trees can fall unexpectedly.
Permits will be available at any District office starting Friday, March 1, at 8:00 a.m. on a first-come-first-serve basis. For more information contact the Prescott National Forest at 928-443-8000.
Visitors of the Prescott National Forest can obtain additional information via the following:
- Prescott National Forest website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott/
- Bradshaw Ranger District, 928-443-8000
- Chino Valley Ranger District, 928-777-2200
- Verde Ranger District, 928-567-4121
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I want a road sign to indicate the wood is free. Not some massive government bureaucracy road sign program like all those signs that seem to be every 12 inches along highways any more because a hand made sign will do. I spend more time trying to read the highway signs now that I can’t keep my eyes on the road. Every mile now it tells you you’ve gone a mile. WHY? Isnt that why every car in america has an odometer which measures distance better than highway transportation people? Even my GPS does it. A few signs on the road is safer not more.
I’m wanting somebody chopping that wood to write a Free Wood by hand sign and prop it up on the piles? I for one wouldn’t take wood stacked beside a road unless a sign said Forest Burn Wood Dump – Take This It’s Free For Everybody because I’d worry about stealing somebody elses wood or getting arrested by the police for stealing government property. Not like the old days when people were thought to be good people because now the government treats us like children and thieves and has more rules and regulations that like driving down a highway you get told every inch that you cross or will cross.
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Coconino National Forest will begin selling firewood permits Friday, and the public may begin cutting on Saturday after the purchase of a permit.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture – U.S. Forest Service – Coconino National Forest – http://www.fs.usda.gov/coconino
Permits are $20, which are good for four cords of wood, and each additional cord of wood after that is $5, up to a maximum of 10 cords per household for the season.
These permits allow for the following:
1. Any dead wood lying on the ground can be removed.
2. Dead standing pine or fir can be cut that is less than 12 inches in diameter or less than 15 feet tall.
3. Dead standing pinyon and juniper can be cut regardless of size, unless there is obvious use by wildlife.
4. Standing dead aspen less than 12 inches in diameter or less than 15 feet tall may be cut only from June 1 to September 30.
A free use permit may be obtained for specified areas of the forest and up to five cords of down and dead wood may be gathered with this permit. A map and more detailed information are provided with each permit.
Though forest roads are still subject to seasonal closure due to wet or winter weather, the vast majority of the roads will be open. The status of roads in each district can be found online at http://go.usa.gov/mpN.
Load tags will be issued as part of each firewood permit and must be physically attached to each ¼ cord of firewood and visible from the rear of the vehicle. Four load tags will be provided for each cord of wood issued on the permit. The goal of this load tagging system is to ensure accountability for the amount of wood removed from the forest.
Firewood season on the Coconino National Forest is open through mid-December. Permits are available at the following locations, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., unless otherwise indicated:
· Mogollon Rim Ranger Station, Blue Ridge; 928-477-2255
· Coconino National Forest Supervisor’s Office, Flagstaff; 928-527-3600
· Red Rock Ranger Station, Village of Oak Creek; 928-282-4119 (Open 7 days/week)
· Verde Ranger Station, Camp Verde; 928-567-4121.
NOTE: The Flagstaff Ranger District Station will not be selling permits this season. Flagstaff residents should visit the Supervisor’s Office to purchase permits.