Amazing what a letter can do!

Not likely in my lifetime. 94% of the land in my province (BC) is designated "Crown Lands", from which we have relatively open access to cut firewood from, with easily obtainable free firewood permits. Parks, private land, native reserves, and federal land make up all the remaining 6%.
Mind you, you won't be finding any oak trees anywhere on that Crown Land.

That must be sweet Lumber-Jack. So is most of the wood on those lands Pine? You must have some Ash that grows in there eh?

No. This Saturday at Brookhaven dump in yaphank they are giving away free firewood from sandy. They can't get the roads cleared but free wood for all. Ha ha

Pine, spruce, larch, and douglas fir are the most common types of trees here used for firewood. Deciduous trees that do grow locally are not usually used for firewood, because we are only permitted to cut dead or fallen trees, and most times you find dead or fallen deciduous trees they will be rotten or just not worth cutting (eg. cottonwood).
I have never come across an ash tree, I think they may be a native type that grows along the extreme South West coast of BC, but then all kinds of trees grow there that won't grow anywhere else in BC. They even have large areas of wild bamboo growing there.
The only other source of deciduous trees that typically might get used for firewood locally are trees that have been cultivated and irrigated by humans, like fruit wood from orchards, or trees grown in people's yards. That is where you might come across the odd ash or oak tree. Very rare for most, but some orchardist have a good supply of fruit wood to burn.

I live in apple country here and know of one particular orchard that offers up fire wood in 4x4 bins (3 ft high? and a lot of them, dozens.) all from orchard trees. Don't recall the price but it's high enough that it isn't tempting. Looks pretty dry tho.

Of course it is pretty dry. With high prices, it means it sits for years, and year, and years .... (Just kidding, but seriously)

Yeah, I can see the arguing right now. Two people start on different ends of a log and argue over whose log it is. I had a lady that wanted me to deal with a 36"+ downed white oak in her backyard. She said a guy was already there working on it, but I was more than welcome to come and take some too. I told her to let me know when the other guy was done and I would take the rest. Told her 1) I don't like to work around people I don't know because of the potential for personal injury doing this stuff and 2) I don't want him or me to feel rushed to beat the other to certain pieces of wood.

She e-mailed me the next day. That guy left everything over 24" in diameter and had no desire to come back for it. Ended up getting 4 full size truckloads from it.

Dang no pictures yet!
I really wanted to see his driveway clogged with wood!

On the topic of fruit wood...... I have family that has 1000's and 1000's of acres of fruit orchards on the other side of the mountains that said I can have as much free wood as I want. I'm working on the brakes and the stake sides on my truck so I can start making runs over the mountain for 3 cords at a time! I can't wait!