The San Juan National Forest is selling permits for personal-use firewood cutting this season. As weather cools, more and more people are collecting firewood in preparation for winter. Purchase your permit and know the rules before you head into the woods.
Each permit costs $20 and allows firewood cutters to gather two-and-a-half cords of dead and downed firewood from the San Juan National Forest for personal use prior to December 31. Each household may purchase additional permits for up to 10 cords of firewood per year for personal use. A cord is the amount of tightly piled wood in a stack four-feet high by four-feet wide by eight-feet long. Firewood cutters are required to have their chainsaw equipped with an approved spark arrester when cutting wood and it is recommended they carry an axe or shovel. For additional information on wood cutting regulations, visit the Forest website.
Permits are available for purchase at any of these local vendors:
- Durango: Kroeger’s Ace Hardware, #8 Town Plaza
- Durango: San Juan National Forest Headquarters, 15 Burnett Court
- Bayfield: Columbine Ranger District Office, 367 Pearl Street
Plan ahead and contact your local ranger district prior to starting your trip. Fall conditions are variable, and visitors should be prepared to encounter forest system roads that are impassable due to snow drifts, waterlogged roadbeds, down trees, or other debris. Visitors are asked to stay off wet roads and respect road closures, which will decrease long-term and costly damages to the roadway.
All offices on the San Juan National Forest are currently conducting business and providing services virtually.
For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874.
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