STATE FOREST FIREWOOD PERMIT - MICHIGAN

[float89]

Has anyone taken advantage of the $20 permit to cut firewood on "select" state land in Michigan? I read the law and of course there are a ton of limitations. Most annoying is you cant leave an established road with anything other than a "handcart, wheelbarrow, ect" to collect the wood. So no form of skidding... Also no permits between Jan 1st and April 1st.

I get it. protect and respect.

I have a designated area about 1/4 mile from my house. The access roads are more like trails but I was really hoping to get in there with a snowmobile and a firewood sled I have.

Anyone use this or even talk with a conservation office about different special circumstances?

 

[Trapper_Pete]

I have heard of them , I think they handicap it so much it is hardly worth it unless you can practically drop the tree over the road.

as bureaucrats wring their hands with restriction on any one who wants to get it done, billions of cords of wood rot.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I have heard of them , I think they handicap it so much it is hardly worth it unless you can practically drop the tree over the road.

as bureaucrats wring their hands with restriction on any one who wants to get it done, billions of cords of wood rot.

You can only remove dead and down wood. Do not get caught cutting dead standing or drive in.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I have heard of them , I think they handicap it so much it is hardly worth it unless you can practically drop the tree over the road.

as bureaucrats wring their hands with restriction on any one who wants to get it done, billions of cords of wood rot.

And wonder why a wildfire burns out of control. Dead oak laying on ground around Houghton Lake to Harrison in 127 median is unbelievable.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

There isn't much state land near us. Usually permits are for areas logged off and is tops or oak wilt areas that have been clear cut. Never had an issue bringing a small tractor to skid and load logs with.

Tree huggers must really be entrenched in the state there.

 

[float89]

90 days to get what you want or at least 5 cords worth. And yes Duce, only on the ground...

When I was a kid my dad and I cut from a roughly 25 acre stand up in the U.P with lots of beach, maple, oak, some basswood, even a little ironwood. Just cleaning up the ground and downing just the dead stuff provided way more than needed for a whole winter of heating, year after year.

I feel like I saw this or heard of it and got excited. Then I read...

Duce, I make that drive quite often and yes it is really incredible to see all that. I guess we can just keep lookin... depressing really.

 

[bowtechmadman]

I think it's a max of 5 cords not to be sold (but I haven't purchased one in several years). I took my chances on the Fed land across the road from me and would use my quad and two wheel trailer to "wander" off the trail a bit to pick up wood. I did this for several years and my impact was never visible the following spring. I never seen a DNR officer so never was an issue. DNR spread pretty thin so the chance of seeing one is marginal if your low impact I'd think.
Where in Michigan are you? My neighbor has over 800 tops that need cut up...I'll never get to them all.

 

[float89]

Yeah I may have to start "wandering" more often.

I'm up in Cadillac. That is quite a bit of tops! harvested or is it from the storm?

 

[old CB]

Back in the 1970s I lived in NY near Canada, and I bought (for a very nominal fee) trees on state land that I cut for firewood, some personal use but mostly for sale. A state forester came and marked the trees and then I was able to cut them. I cut some very nice white oak, hard maple, ironwood, etc. under that arrangement. (I also tapped maples during sugaring season as the sugar bush had better access than where I was living.) I knew some guys who were cutting sawlogs on state land under the same arrangement. You might inquire if it's possible to do similar in Michigan.

Here in Colorado we're surrounded by countless acres of U.S. forest land. You can get a firewood permit ($20/cord?) and the restrictions are similar: cut standing or down DEAD trees only, and only a certain distance from road or trail. You're not supposed to cut anything over 10" dia., but the chance of running into forest service personnel while cutting is pretty much zero.

When I first moved here and was new in the area, I went up the road on Federal land and dug several small (2--3') Doug Fir trees to transplant in my yard. There are literally millions of such trees up there, so the U.S. did not suffer from my trespass. I dug them on a Sunday morning, figuring that I was unlikely to meet a light green pickup at such a time. I was loading them into the back of my pickup, kind of nervous about what I was doing. A guy out walking his dog approached me from behind and said "Good morning." I just about jumped out of my skin.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Tops from having 90 acres harvested. Depends on the area on the federal ground some areas it's only dead and down you can harvest, some areas you can harvest dead and standing also.

 

[Whitbread]

I've grabbed quite a few fuel wood permits from dnr here in Otsego County for the last 4 years. I harvest far more than 5 cords, but I stick to standing dead/down only. I'd rather have the permit and just be guilty of using an atv/tractor vs guilty of everything in the extremely off chance of running into an officer.

I usually use the tractor or atv to skid logs out off of oil well roads where winds brought down tons of trees in the last 2 years. You MIGHT run into a dnr officer if you're cutting off of the atv/snowmobile trails, but back in the oil well roads I'm not remotely worried. I make sure to stay respectful and not trash/tear up the area I'm working in as I don't want to see the woods ruined any more than anyone else.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Agreed Whitbread. I also always bought the permit just didn't abide by the "stay on trails" portion of the rules.