With autumn almost upon us many people might be thinking about the colder weather to come and getting themselves some firewood. But think twice before you head off with your chainsaw! There are strict regulations in both New South Wales and Victoria about when and where you can collect. You can be reported for doing the wrong thing and potentially fined.
Neither Albury City nor City of Wodonga allow firewood collection from council roadsides or reserves. In New South Wales, you will need a permit to collect from State Forests and the price is dependent on the amount you collect. Once your permit is authorised, you will be issued a map that shows where you are able to collect. In Victoria, maps of collection areas are published online. The autumn collection period begins 1 April in New South Wales and 1 March in Victoria.
In all areas, IT IS ILLEGAL TO FELL STANDING TREES. You must only collect wood that has already fallen.
Illegal firewood collection leads to unsustainable practices affecting communities that rely on firewood for fuel over the winter and causes significant damage to parks and reserves. A whole host of animal species, from birds and mammals to reptiles and insects, rely on both standing trees and fallen logs for food and shelter.
Of paramount importance in ecosystems is wood that contains hollows – did you know it takes a tree around 100 years to create a hollow 10 cm big and 300 years or more for a hollow more than 20 cm big? One critter we have locally that uses the biggest of hollows is the greater glider (Petauroides volans) which is now sadly listed as endangered. We also have local populations of squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) that make use of the many nest boxes around the reserves. On top of bushfires that destroy habitat, illegal collection of firewood leads to less hollows available for the species that rely on them to survive.
So please follow the rules when collecting firewood and help protect our forests for the future.
