NO. 251E

Page 1

03/21/13

MICHIGANPOLICY & PROCEDURENO. 251E

DEPARTMENT OFFOREST RESOURCES DIVISION

NATURAL RESOURCESSALES AND REMOVAL OF TIMBERDATE:12/17/13

PROCEDURE

SUBJECT:Fuelwood

POLICY:The authority for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to sell forest products comes from Part 5, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended (NREPA). Per Section 502 (2) (d), the DNR may remove and dispose of forest products as required for the protection, reforestation, and proper development and conservation of the lands and property under the control of the DNR. For state forest lands, this authority is delegated from the director to the timber sales specialist for sales equal to or greater than $5,000. It is delegated to the unit managers for amounts less than $5,000.

The State Land Rules permit the picking and removal of mushrooms, berries and edible fruits or nuts for personal use (R 299.922 (h)) without a permit. It does not permit the removal of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses or other vegetation. To remove ‘other vegetation’, including dead and down wood, a permit is required.Forest Resources Division (FRD) administers the issuance of fuelwood permits from the state forest in the Upper and northern Lower Peninsulas. The issuance of these permits is dependent upon the availability of wood suitable for fuelwood purpose, and other factors. Most of these permits are issued for wood left over after commercial logging operations or storm damage. For a General Area permit, trees or logging residue must be dead and lying on the ground and be within 200 feet of a road. Dead means no live limbs or branches. No standing trees, alive or dead, may be cut. A Specific Area permit can be used for dead and down and standing dead trees in any location at the discretion of the unit manager.

Fuelwood permits will not be issued on land encumbered with a timber sale or other contract. Physically separated cutting units of a sale contract may be individually released from the contract. Fuelwood may be removed only from the location of the legal description designated on the permit or from the location(s) indicated on the map attached to the permit.

Driver’s license number and date of birth (DOB) are considered restricted, secure information. The linkage between name, address, driver’s license and DOB will require that the paperwork be secured in a locked file cabinet with limited access by program staff (i.e., only those who have a “need to know” should have access to the permit records).

Note that the collection of campfire wood does not require a Fuelwood Permit. Collection of campfire wood used for personal and immediate use within the boundaries of the state forest is covered under a camper’s State Forest Campground registration or under the dispersed Camp Registration Card (PR 3134).A State Park Camping Permit though, is only valid for campfire wood within the State Park. A State Park Camping Permit is not authorization to collect campfire wood from the state forest.

PURPOSE:A Fuelwood Permit (PR 4166) is issued for a fee of $20.00. A Fuelwood Permit serves as a permit and a receipt. A permittee can obtain a Fuelwood Permit at any FRD office open to the public or at designated DNR Operational Service Centers (OSCs). A permittee can also apply for a permit using a Fuelwood Application (PR 4166-1) which can be found at The application is mailed, along with a check, to the DNR office which manages the state forest land where fuelwood is to be collected.

The Fuelwood Permit and receipt is a preprinted, pre-numbered, three-part form issued by the Program Services Section (PSS) of FRD. Contact PSS for additional permits. When a unit/OSC receives their batch of pre-numbered permits, the permit numbers are entered into a spreadsheet. As permits are issued, the permittee’s name is entered next to the permit number. If a permit is voided, “void” is entered next to the permit number. When a permit is sold, the spreadsheet is updated showing which permit number was issued to whom on what date. This is done for auditing purposes. Permits are reconciled by PSS periodically, but no less than annually.

A Fuelwood Permit entitles the permittee to gather up to five (5) standard cords in designated areas where a sufficient supply of fuelwood is known to exist, such as areas of storm damage, along a road or where residue from commercial timber sales is available. These permits are limited to one per household per year. Fuelwood from these permits is to be used for personal use only and is not to be resold or traded. Vehicles used for fuelwood removal are restricted to existing road systems. Permits are issued during the period of April 1 to December 31 and will be good for up to 90 days, but not past December 31. The period for the permits has been established to more or less coincide with “leaf on” and “snow off”. Dead trees look similar to live, leafless trees. In addition, many roads are impassable in the winter. Not issuing permits in January thru March also gives DNR staff the opportunity to update the General Area maps before the start of the new permit season. Exceptions to these procedures will be considered for hardship cases only as verified by the Department of Human Services. The permittee can apply for reimbursement through the State Emergency Relief Program. Fuelwood permits may be issued to DNR employees. See DNR Policy and Procedure 32.42-01 - FUELWOOD SALES TO DNR EMPLOYEES.

There are two types of Fuelwood Permits -- General Area and Specific Area.

General Area: These can be ordered via mail or sold to “walk-ins”. General Area permittees will receive a township, partial county or county-wide permit map. These maps will be generated at the beginning of the fuelwood season and should be applicable for the entire season (i.e. April 1 to December 31). Areas that are unavailable for fuelwood collection (such as areas covered by a timber sale) will be marked on the map. The map should not change until the following year, allowing a permit to be sold from any DNR office that processes fuelwood permits. Management Units can elect to opt-in or opt-out of issuing General Area permits. A management unit that elects to sell General Area permits may also sell Specific Area permits.

Specific Area: These permits are sold to “walk-ins” or arrangements are made with permittees via phone, mail or email before permits are sold. As the name implies, they are for specific areas (i.e., not General Area permits) and may include specific instructions (such as the ability to cut standing dead timber). These are only issued at the local unit manager’s discretion and can only be issued through the local office. There are many offices in the Upper Peninsula that only issue specific permits and these permits are often for closed timber sales or for areas of known windfall. A Specific Area permit can be issued at any time of the year.

RELATED

PROCEDURES:02.01-00 Internal Controls Over Cash Receipts

02.01-01 Opening Department Mail and Handling Cash Receipts

02.01-06 Issuing Official Receipts

02.01-07 Making Bank Deposits in State Treasurer's Accounts

251 251 Sale and Removals of Timber

IC 4112 WISCONSIN DNR FIREWOOD MOVEMENT RULE

IC 4166-c OAK WILT (PRINT ONLY)

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HISTORICAL NOTES

Updated PR 4166 Fuelwood Permit (Rev. 02/11/1999) and combined with PR 4166-1 Fuelwood Permit Additional Requirements (Rev. 06/28/12)

New PR 4166-1 Fuelwood Permit Application

Deleted State Forest Fuelwood Permit Requirements IC 4166-a

Deleted General Information for Firewood Requests IC 4166-b

Moved fuelwood permit information from P & P 251 Sale and Removals of Timber to P & P 251E Fuelwood Permit

Incorporated direction from April 3, 2006 memo State Forest Fuelwood Permit Protocol for Emerald Ash Borer, Beech Bark Disease and Oak Wilt

WHO

/ DOES WHAT
Permittee / Completes and signs application or permit.
Makes check payable to State of Michigan.
If an application is used, returns the completed application and check to the DNR office whichmanages the state forest land where fuelwood is to be collected.
DNR Staff - Application / If an application is submitted, reviews the application and determines if a permit can be issued.
If a permit cannot be issued, contacts the applicant.
If a permit can be issued, writes the permittee’s name on the permit. Above applicant’s signature on the permit, writes “see application”. Inserts the permit number on the application. Completes the DNR USE ONLY – Permit Approval section of the permit.
Checks appropriate boxes regarding ash, oak and beech on back of permit.
Attaches the permit and a map to the application. The permit, application and map must be attached to be considered a valid permit.
Mails the permit back to the permittee, if the application was submitted via mail.
DNR Staff - Permit / If a permit is requested, reviews the request and determines if a permit can be issued.
If a permit cannot be issued, discusses with the applicant.
If a permit can be issued, have the applicant complete the permittee Information and Liability and Indemnification sections of the permit.
Completes the DNR USE ONLY – Permit Approval section of the permit and accepts payment.
Checks appropriate boxes regarding ash, oak and beech on back of permit.
Attaches map to permit, if necessary.
If a map is issued, staples the permit and map together to create a valid permit.
DNR Staff / Issues white copy of permit to permittee, along with application and map if applicable.
Files yellow copy in locked “permit file”, along with application and map if applicable.
Sends pink copy to Program Services section with remittance report.
Maintains a log listing of all permits.
DNR Staff - RSS / Files the agent/DNR copy of the receipt.
Destroys the customer copy of the receipt, since the Fuelwood Permit is also a receipt.
At the end of the day, balances the register to the online system.
A different employee balances the sales for the week to the online system and makes the deposit.
A supervisor checks to make sure everything is accounted for.
At the end of the monthafter reconciling the sales, sends the pink copy of the fuelwood permits to FRD Program Services section and attaches the pink copy of the deposit slip.
Also at the end of the month send the R4166-1 (Fuelwood Permit Reconciliation form), along with scans of the sales logs, to FRD Program Services section.
DNR Staff – non-RSS / Annually, Program Services section audits the Fuelwood Permit log against the hardcopy Fuelwood Permits, both issued and not issued permits.
Auditor checks that permits on handmatch the log for permits that were not issued.
Auditor checks that all permits issued are listed on a Fax Cover Sheet.

Procedure Approved:

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Forest Resources Division ChiefDate