Anyone know if its legal to take the dead and fallen trees along highways and roads. I live in Central PA and along the main highway i live by are hundreds of trees that have been blown down or cut down and have been sitting along the road for years. Im not sure who to contact about taking them. Someone once told me that you need a permit.
Dead fallen tress along Highways.
- Thread starter micah
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Around here in Nebraska you have to get a permit from the state i think.
I know we can cut on state land with permits.
I know we can cut on state land with permits.
We collect deadfalls all the time laying by the road (we live in a state forest). The road crews that have to clean them up are gracious. Sometimes we get a heads up from a local that they are cutting nearby and we have gotten quite a bit of wood there too.
I think as long as it is not in someone's front lawn will you be given any hassle. If it is in soomeones front lawn, ring the bell and see if it is OK with them.
Just be safe.
I think as long as it is not in someone's front lawn will you be given any hassle. If it is in soomeones front lawn, ring the bell and see if it is OK with them.
Just be safe.
You might need a permit, technically. A good reality check would be to go and ask the local or state police in your area what they think about you cutting deadfalls-after all they are the ones that would over look it anyway.
I live off of a state hiway here in Ca and Cal Trans has a 30' easement on both sides of state hiways.
They keep it pretty cleaned up and even fall trees they think might fall in a storm. When they do they haul em to a wide spot in the road, limb em and stack em and leave em for whoever wants em. Mostly pine and cedar but hey its free wood for bucking and spliting. Sometimes the boss man will even tell some of us locals when they are going to be in the area. Check with your hiway dept. and they fell em so no permit needed
They keep it pretty cleaned up and even fall trees they think might fall in a storm. When they do they haul em to a wide spot in the road, limb em and stack em and leave em for whoever wants em. Mostly pine and cedar but hey its free wood for bucking and spliting. Sometimes the boss man will even tell some of us locals when they are going to be in the area. Check with your hiway dept. and they fell em so no permit needed
If in a state or national forest you can usually pick up what you want but you may also need a permit.
If that wood is along private property, then you need permission from the land owner even if the wood is on the road right-of-way.
We once lived in an area that had lots of state forest land. The county road commission loved it if anyone would get wood from the roadways. You did not need a permit for this either. The road crews would cut and purposely leave anything that could be used for firewood. That was nice. In addition to that, there were a lot of oil and gas exploration and new wells. They were constantly opening new roads. Lots of firewood just for the taking.
But please be sure you have covered your bases on if it is okay to get the wood.
If that wood is along private property, then you need permission from the land owner even if the wood is on the road right-of-way.
We once lived in an area that had lots of state forest land. The county road commission loved it if anyone would get wood from the roadways. You did not need a permit for this either. The road crews would cut and purposely leave anything that could be used for firewood. That was nice. In addition to that, there were a lot of oil and gas exploration and new wells. They were constantly opening new roads. Lots of firewood just for the taking.
But please be sure you have covered your bases on if it is okay to get the wood.
Backwoods Savage said:
Maybe just a clarification here. If you are in a state/national forest (we live in one) you will almost definitely need a permit if you are on the forest itself. If you are on a public road I doubt any police officer would issue a summons unless you are a nuisance. They may stop and give a warning... but usually they have better things to do.
Im definetly gonna call the state police station monday morning and hopefully be cutting for the next week.
I was stopped by conservation officers for cuttting up dead fall in the state game area I live in, and told I would be ticketed if I didn't cease. They said that blocks of land are bidded out yearly for the collection of the fallen trees. Funny though, the trees I was cutting up that they cut down along the road that were hazards have been there since '05. So I harvest on the national holidays when I know they won't be working .
We have been out the last 5 days cutting dead falls. There must have been at least a dozen Park trucks that past us while we were bucking them. Not one of them even stoppped to say "hello".
We do have a permit to cut but I guess there are so few of us that they really don't care. Only once, a few years back, did someone tell us "you can't cut here' and after we showed him the permit he said "Oh...OK"... he must have been new.
We do have a permit to cut but I guess there are so few of us that they really don't care. Only once, a few years back, did someone tell us "you can't cut here' and after we showed him the permit he said "Oh...OK"... he must have been new.
I called the forestry department and they told me that for $10 i can get a permit to cut 1 cord of wood and i have 15 days to cut it. Sounds like a DEAL to me. Now i just have to decide where i would like to cut.
I cut alot of white oak on the roadside with an "Adopt a Highway" sign. Told them I was apart of the sponsorship and was just cleaning up!
And Micah, that permit would get me much more than one cord.
And Micah, that permit would get me much more than one cord.
Micah said:
Hey that's great. We find the best areas are the fireroads. Most maps (even the Park ones) don't have these roads. Try using Google Earth Maps in the satelite view. Those small white squigly lines off the major roads are usually fire roads.
We too could get a permit for live trees and I believe they mark them in specific areas, there is a cost for this type of permit. The dead fall permit is zippo cost for us and we travel less than 3 miles round trip for a van full of oak.
- Status
Similar threads
