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Harvesting Heat

A guide to permits, rules and other considerations for gathering firewood in Northwest Montana

By Myers Reece
Adobe Stock

Keeping in spirit with Montanans’ self-sufficient proclivities, residents scour the valleys and mountains throughout the year in pursuit of nature’s diverse bounty, including mushrooms, huckleberries, Christmas trees, and much more.

This time of year, as temperatures drop, many people head into the timber in search of an abundant heat source: wood.

On any given autumn day in the forests of Northwest Montana, you’re liable to run into folks filling trailers, pickups and cars with firewood they’ve harvested.

The Flathead National Forest has a handy guide for firewood gathering, outlining permits, fees, requirements, permit vendors, best trees for firewood, and other considerations.

We’ve included in this article most of the brochure’s key points to ensure that folks heading into the woods are properly permitted, know the rules and are operating in the safest and best manner for both themselves and the environment. Click here to view the full brochure.

For questions about gathering firewood on state land, visit www.dnrc.mt.gov/licenses-and-permits or call (406) 444-2074. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation also has a disclaimer reminding people how to properly transport firewood to avoid spreading invasive insects and disease.

“Transporting firewood across state lines may inadvertently threaten Montana’s forests by introducing non-native invasive insects and diseases that could kill large swaths of native trees,” the DNRC warns.

For more information about firewood transportation considerations, visit www.dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/forestry/forestry-assistance/pest-management/dont-move-firewood.

Flathead National Forest Firewood Guidelines

PERMITS

The firewood permit season is open year round.

Personal-Use Charge Permits

Personal-use permits are required for cutting and removal of firewood. Permits cost $5 per cord with a four-cord ($20) minimum purchase. Limit of 12 cords per household per year. One cord is defined as 8 feet wide, 4 feet deep and 4 feet tall (128 cubic feet).

Commercial Firewood

Commercial quantities of firewood are typically sold as commercial timber sales. For more information about the availability of commercial firewood, please contact your local Flathead National Forest office.

Campwood

Gathering of campwood is allowed without a permit as long as the wood is burned at your camp. A permit is required to transport any unused firewood home.

GENERAL RULES

• Permit authorizes cutting of dead down trees as well as standing dead trees within the permitted area. Six feet is the maximum piece length that may be removed.

• Do not cut or remove cedar or Pacific yew.

• Do not cut or remove any trees or logs with signs, tags or paint on them.

• Do not cut or remove firewood from developed recreation sites, campgrounds or wild and scenic river corridors.

• Do not cut or remove firewood from active timber-sale units or other areas designated (by maps or signs) as closed to firewood cutting.

• Do not cut or remove firewood from within 150 feet of any running stream, pond, lake, marshy or wet area. If a tree is accidentally felled into a waterway, leave the entire tree.

• Vehicles are restricted to roads. If winching, cable systems cannot be in excess of 100 feet.

• During the Proclaimed Fire Season:

a) Chainsaw operators must have a serviceable fire extinguisher and a shovel.

b) Chainsaws must be equipped with an approved spark arrester screen.

c) Vehicles must be equipped with a baffled muffler and serviceable tailpipe.

FLATHEAD SPECIFIC RULES

• Firewood cutting or removal is prohibited in the Coram Experimental Forest, and on or adjacent to the following roads: Westside Hungry Horse Reservoir Rd. #895 from the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 to Lid Creek Campground; Tally Lake Rd. #913 (entire length); and Sheppard Creek Rd. #113 from the junction of Rd #539 to the junction of Rd. #5388.

• Firewood cutting is prohibited within 300 feet of any river, lake, or reservoir.

• From Nov. 1 to May 31, larch trees cannot be cut unless they are dead, with loose buckskin bark.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Note: Don’t forget to complete the Product Quantity Removal Record on your permit prior to leaving the cutting location.

• Please obtain a current U.S. Forest Service map to be sure that you are cutting on the national forest and not private or state land. The maps will also identify roads open to motorized use.

• Please avoid cutting wildlife trees. Standing dead trees (snags) are a source of food, nests, perches, and protective cover for many birds and mammals. These trees usually have the following characteristics: broken tops, visible nests, holes in the trunk, conks or swelling.

• Cut safely, have someone watch and stop traffic when cutting near a road.

For more information, including where to buy permits, contact the Flathead National Forest office at (406) 758-5204, www.fs.usda.gov/flathead or 650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell, MT 59901.