see also: in November 2008:   Thanksgiving Day Marijuana Seizure Yields 450 Pounds at Douglas Port of Entry   Registered Sex Offender Intercepted by CBP at Pacific Highway Entry   CBP Officers Seize 145 Pounds of Ecstasy at Vermont Entry   CBP Officers in Boston Seize Undeclared $19,300   CBP Advises Travelers of Temporary Construction at Otay Mesa Border Crossing   CBP Officers in Niagara Falls Arrest Man Wanted in California   Customs and Border Protection Officers in New York Arrest Imposter ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers on the web:   United States Department of Agriculture

contacts for this news release

Washington - Moving firewood can spread insects that kill trees. The Asian longhorned beetle for example has already cost the U.S. in excess of $269 million in eradication efforts.

To protect U.S. forests from the Asian longhorned beetle and other hardwood pests, Customs and Border Protection will enforce immediately a federal order requiring shipments of firewood from Canada to be heat treated in order to be imported into the United States.

As proof of treatment, commercial shipments of firewood must be accompanied by a treatment certificate issued by the treatment facility. Noncommercial shipments must be accompanied by either a treatment certificate issued by the treatment facility or an attached treatment label. Passengers may be turned back to Canada to dispose of non-compliant firewood shipments.

The federal order was issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on October 17 to ensure that harmful wood pests do not enter the United States from Canada through the movement of firewood. APHIS requires all firewood made from any hardwood species be heat treated to a minimum temperature of 71.1 degrees Celsius or 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 75 minutes.

If allowed to become established and spread in the U.S., hardwood pests have the potential of destroying millions of acres of America’s treasured hardwoods, including national forests and backyard trees. These hardwood pests include the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, Asian gypsy moth and Japanese beetle. They are a serious threat to hardwood trees and have no known natural predator in the U.S.

For more information on hardwood pests and the federal order, please visit the APHIS Web site. ( United States Department of Agriculture )

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.