I didn't know the state of Ohio was in the wood buisness!

[bsa0021]

On my way to work, I noticed that the trees along a state road were getting debranched. When I drove home the trees were gone, so I investigated. On my lunch break, I took my truck the the area and wouldn't you know, the state was cutting the trees along the road (under the power lines). So, I stopped and asked if I could get a load in my truck.....sorry, the trees are the states property now...said the forman.
What's up with that? I didn't know the state needed firewood. Or was this the guys way of saying ...were taking the wood for ourselves.?

 

[caber]

Many years ago we lived in another county and our neighbor had a fireplace in his basement. He was also a high-up supervisor for the county road crew. Any wood the county cut got tossed into a dump truck and then deposited at his house. I suspect "state property" is much the same as "county property" and will end up in some supervisor's driveway.

 

[smokinj]

The state cutting this time of year got to be more than one reason

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If they cut trees along our road, the wood belongs to me!

In Michigan you can get a permit to cut on public land in most places, but you may not get the best wood. It used to be free but now you have to pay for it but the price is low.

 

[karri0n]

My town has an "Up for grabs" policy when they down anything on our road. There's still some rounds sitting on the side of the road, just rotting away.

 

[billb3]

They could be taking it for personal use.
Got a Congressman with time to look into it if a call to the State DPW doesn't yield a definitive answer ?
They could be taking it to shred and mix with sewer plant mud to make flower pot "dirt".
Sold in familiar green bags with a company name on it.
(that's what my town does with branches ending up the Recycling division's property.)
Might be a valuable resource for a pellet maker.

 

[mikeathens]

On my way to work, I noticed that the trees along a state road were getting debranched. When I drove home the trees were gone, so I investigated. On my lunch break, I took my truck the the area and wouldn't you know, the state was cutting the trees along the road (under the power lines). So, I stopped and asked if I could get a load in my truck.....sorry, the trees are the states property now...said the forman.
What's up with that? I didn't know the state needed firewood. Or was this the guys way of saying ...were taking the wood for ourselves.?

Along a state road, I really don't know. What I have found recently is that state parks and forests will sometimes let people remove downed timber. It's up to the park/forest manager. Strouds Run recently had a contractor come through and clear electric right of way (hired by power co.). I called the park, and asked about it. They are going to plaace an ad in the local paper letting people know when/where they can get wood. The Wayne National Forest does this same thing.

If I were you, I'd call the appropriate ODOT district and ask them. If this is under power lines (like at the park), the power line owner is having them cut...they are private contractors hired by the power co., so they don't have any right to tell you you can take it. ODOT, on the other hand, can. Call and see what they say.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

In NYS, most Town and County highways are actually ROW. So whoever cuts wood on your property (since they have the ROW they have the right to do that) do NOT become the owners of the wood once it is severed. Of course, the purpose of severing the tree was to keep the ROW clear in the first place, so it doesn't make sense for them to leave the timber where it will still cause a saftey issue. But it's the LANDOWNERS' wood.

Unless it's in 'the park'. There 'the State' ownes {too} much of the land, and thus the standing timber thereon. But now they think that they should be able to not pay any tax increases on that land/timber. Millions of acres of this land has not had a human foot on it since 'the State' bought it. We're actually keeping this land so the squirrells and white tail have a place to abide. Or the lost hunter/hiker who ends up costing we Taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to find them. And the hiker didn't even need a permit to be there!

It's kinda like the crazy old lady who spends all her money to feed her 100 cats. She has no money left to go to the Dr, but her cats are well fed. It's time to accept the fact that a park this big is a luxury . . .one NYS cannot afford. Either harvest it, or sell it.

 

[mikeathens]

Along most state routes in OHIO, the state owns property along the highway (this isn't necessarily the case in county or township situations, as they are R-O-W).

Anyhow, call ODOT for an answer. I'm willing to bet that you saw either Asplundh or Kokosing trucks and crews doing the cutting, not ODOT.

 

[Summertime]

I asked my town what they did with all of the wood the town cut and they said they grind it all up for mulch for the town schools, what a waste of a resource. I don't even have kids

 

[Malatesta]

Most of it here gets left right were they cut the tree limbs. Ive seen the crews leave whole trees right down inside a gully or just off the road way about 25 ft. Problem is traffic is so busy you cant park a truck to get access to it.

 

[bsa0021]

Along most state routes in OHIO, the state owns property along the highway (this isn't necessarily the case in county or township situations, as they are R-O-W).

Anyhow, call ODOT for an answer. I'm willing to bet that you saw either Asplundh or Kokosing trucks and crews doing the cutting, not ODOT.

Yeh, It was Asplungh. I'm going to try the ODOT direction Monday.

A park in the area gives away their wood every so often.....this Saturday as a matter of fact. But you have to get there at 3 am to be first in line for the 8am loading. It's too cold to sit in the truck tonight. Going to be in low 20s. Stopped to check and it's all split hardwood. Normally unsplit. That's why I thought the stuff along the road would be a good catch.

 

[adrpga498]

In Jerzy there is tons of dead wood in State County and Muni gvt. oooooopps thats stealing a thread, shoulld have given this joke a little more thought. Sorry Moderaters,

 

[bsruther]

When I lived over in Ohio, I noticed one day that the tree branches had been trimmed all along the road behind my house. There was a home owner standing out by the road where a bunch had been dropped. I asked him if I could have it and he said take it all. As far as I was concerned, if it was on his property, it was his to give away. The guy you spoke to was probably just a butthead and he didn't want you to have it. Some people are just plain spiteful to strangers for no reason at all.

Through the years that I scrounged wood in Ohio, the main rule I went by was to not touch it if it was on county or city park land. Everything else was pretty much fair game.

 

[Cory92]

I ran in to this at a Rest stop on 71. Several trees had been dropped and bucked up. I went to the maintenance office and asked if it was free for the taking. The response I got was it was considered state property. They said it was to be hauled off to the dump. Our tax dollars in action. There was probably 2-3 cords worth there. How much did the state spend to haul off wood that people could have used for heat?

 

[drdoct]

Most anything that is state or federal property will be trashed. It's an incredible waste but necessary in this day of litigation. That way there won't be any cries of favoritism like there is on this thread. See if one gripes because another is getting something then no one gets it. Anyone with more than one kid can relate. A state college was using our warehouse for all these chairs and desks that they were trying to get rid of. A lot of the desks looked brand new and a lot of the chairs were in great condition. They also had a plasma cutter that looked like it had never been used and a bunch of 'old' computer equipment. Anybody in a govt position can tell you that Christmas is really the month before the end of the business year (October if I remember right). That's when you have to spend all the money or get a reduced amount. So they bought lots of stuff and had to move this good stuff out. They had rules that it could only go to a school. All the public schools in the state got to get this stuff. Of course hardly any did because they have their money to buy new stuff and don't want second hand stuff. So... All these good chairs and desks, and everything else had to go to the land fill. Not only that, but had to be cataloged and signed off by the landfill gate guy. It's waste on a massive scale. But I guess necessary to avoid lawsuits. My city has about 4 years of wood they cut all in 16" length on their storage lot. Supervisor said that they will be taking it to the landfill soon. I left my number and asked that he call me so I can be waiting at the landfill to try and get some of that good seasoned wood. Shame they can't just sell it and not have to go through the hassle of paying guys to dump it. And make a little money to boot.

 

[Summertime]

Most anything that is state or federal property will be trashed. It's an incredible waste but necessary in this day of litigation. That way there won't be any cries of favoritism like there is on this thread. See if one gripes because another is getting something then no one gets it. Anyone with more than one kid can relate. A state college was using our warehouse for all these chairs and desks that they were trying to get rid of. A lot of the desks looked brand new and a lot of the chairs were in great condition. They also had a plasma cutter that looked like it had never been used and a bunch of 'old' computer equipment. Anybody in a govt position can tell you that Christmas is really the month before the end of the business year (October if I remember right). That's when you have to spend all the money or get a reduced amount. So they bought lots of stuff and had to move this good stuff out. They had rules that it could only go to a school. All the public schools in the state got to get this stuff. Of course hardly any did because they have their money to buy new stuff and don't want second hand stuff. So... All these good chairs and desks, and everything else had to go to the land fill. Not only that, but had to be cataloged and signed off by the landfill gate guy. It's waste on a massive scale. But I guess necessary to avoid lawsuits. My city has about 4 years of wood they cut all in 16" length on their storage lot. Supervisor said that they will be taking it to the landfill soon. I left my number and asked that he call me so I can be waiting at the landfill to try and get some of that good seasoned wood. Shame they can't just sell it and not have to go through the hassle of paying guys to dump it. And make a little money to boot.

What a shame, The least they could do is hold a auction to make it fair to all and increase the states revenue.

 

[firefighterjake]

Most anything that is state or federal property will be trashed. It's an incredible waste but necessary in this day of litigation. That way there won't be any cries of favoritism like there is on this thread. See if one gripes because another is getting something then no one gets it. Anyone with more than one kid can relate. A state college was using our warehouse for all these chairs and desks that they were trying to get rid of. A lot of the desks looked brand new and a lot of the chairs were in great condition. They also had a plasma cutter that looked like it had never been used and a bunch of 'old' computer equipment. Anybody in a govt position can tell you that Christmas is really the month before the end of the business year (October if I remember right). That's when you have to spend all the money or get a reduced amount. So they bought lots of stuff and had to move this good stuff out. They had rules that it could only go to a school. All the public schools in the state got to get this stuff. Of course hardly any did because they have their money to buy new stuff and don't want second hand stuff. So... All these good chairs and desks, and everything else had to go to the land fill. Not only that, but had to be cataloged and signed off by the landfill gate guy. It's waste on a massive scale. But I guess necessary to avoid lawsuits. My city has about 4 years of wood they cut all in 16" length on their storage lot. Supervisor said that they will be taking it to the landfill soon. I left my number and asked that he call me so I can be waiting at the landfill to try and get some of that good seasoned wood. Shame they can't just sell it and not have to go through the hassle of paying guys to dump it. And make a little money to boot.

Our actual budget year begins in June and ends in May . . . and the City is pretty good about "recycling" stuff from department to department (i.e. my car that I use at work was first used by the PD and after I get done with it there is a pretty good chance it will go to Parks and Rec or some other department). Items that are no longer used or wanted by any department are typically auctioned off.

 

[coffeedogz3]

Seems like there is something in the regulations in Ohio that you can't take/move the wood from one county to another, but I'm not sure about within the same county. Someone mentioned that's due to the emerald ash bore bugs. Gee... I now wonder if taking wood would be like fishing in Ohio = has to be a certain species, weight & length, or throw it back only when caught only with a certain hook and must be on a blue moon, only when there are 3 people present and two of them are holding pitch forks in opposite directions not directed at the moon, while the 3rd person farts in the tune of "Dixie" and must be wearing a blue & green stripped shirt with 4 buttons backwards on Tuesdays, but not in the month of June when the blue & greeen stripped shirt can be worn correctly but then has to be on a Thursday during the time period between 2:11am and 4:28am only, or citations will be issued.

 

[mikeathens]

Attitudes like that are what is going to destroy 25% or more of my trees (and other tree farm owners', state, and federal forests) - an important mast for wildlife and an important crop tree for furniture and firewood. Without regulation on moving wood, I might already see part of my 85 acre tree farm gone.

I just love when poeple react to ANY regulation with disdain, for the mere fact that it's a regulation. the emrald ash borer is real, brought here by humans either because they didn't care what would happen ($$) or accidentally. Humans are speeding up it's advance. If we had regulations in place LONG AGO, we wouldn't have to worry about this, or the zebra mussel, gypsy moth, round goby, garlic mustard, autumn olive, honeysuckle, chestnut blight (there used to be these trees called American Chestunts), Ailanthus, etc, etc. OK, maybe some of these were brought here in the 1800's, but we (humans) keep bringing more and more...damn regulations...

 

[iceman]

couple of things..... 1) check your local dumps they often take it there...... 2) keep it for themselves or their friends many times they are not from your area they are contracted.... 3) next when they start that bs you gotta offer cash thats what they are looking for as they are prolly getting 10-15 an hr so ask and when they reject if they do throw a number you are comfortable with out there and it will change everything ... their friends are not as important when it comes to cash on the spot
i have gotten free wood like and i also had to pay for it but get their number because if you pay them say 150 a truck load watch how fast they will tell you about the next job as well
bottom line free is best but cheap money is good as well
so far this year i have gotten over 3 cds at 200 not the greatest but dropped off at my house cut to 16-18 inches all i gotta do is split
another cd coming for free as he is down the street and has to get rid of it... when he called i told holidays i'll pass no cash on me ... then he said hell i'll be 2 houses down you can have it as i have to much and need to get to another job...... 4cd only pd 200- = 50 bucks a cd of oak maple and cherry all i gotta do is split i'll take it and scrouge the rest of the way....

and not for anything but if i can help a friend who can then help me later i'm giving it to him for free... someone throws cash .. i'll tell that friend wait till the next job. these guys could keep it and sell it for firewood themseleves... not trying to be mean
but every time a tree gets cut down in my town on town property they leave it for 2 days for scroungers then take it to the dump and leave it outside the gate for us first come first serve

 

[bsruther]

It's also illegal to bring firewood from Ohio into Kentucky, but people still do it. The summer campers are the worst culprits.

 

[bsa0021]

Seems like there is something in the regulations in Ohio that you can't take/move the wood from one county to another, but I'm not sure about within the same county. Someone mentioned that's due to the emerald ash bore bugs. Gee... I now wonder if taking wood would be like fishing in Ohio = has to be a certain species, weight & length, or throw it back only when caught only with a certain hook and must be on a blue moon, only when there are 3 people present and two of them are holding pitch forks in opposite directions not directed at the moon, while the 3rd person farts in the tune of "Dixie" and must be wearing a blue & green stripped shirt with 4 buttons backwards on Tuesdays, but not in the month of June when the blue & greeen stripped shirt can be worn correctly but then has to be on a Thursday during the time period between 2:11am and 4:28am only, or citations will be issued.

THAT'S IT!!

 

[Prada]

We live out in the country, not far from you Mike. We are in Hocking. Often the power company sends guys out to clear out trees along their power lines. They have always sent a guy around first to let us know they would be on our property. They have always told us that any wood they take down would be cut into 18 inch lengths and left for us to do anything we want to do with it since we are the land owners. They have left some real messes in the past for us before by not keeping their word at the 18 inch length promise etc. Sometimes instead of cutting a tree trunk straight off at the bottom, they have just sliced it leaving a tall side and Hubby has gotten into trouble while riding the Quad in the woods. There has never been a controversy on who's wood it belonged to though......'The Land Owners'
My point is if you were riding down a State Road and they were cutting trees along someones property it belonged to the owners and if they were cutting wood on no one's property and then it would have been State Property, then it's their call..

 

[iceman]

We live out in the country, not far from you Mike. We are in Hocking. Often the power company sends guys out to clear out trees along their power lines. They have always sent a guy around first to let us know they would be on our property. They have always told us that any wood they take down would be cut into 18 inch lengths and left for us to do anything we want to do with it since we are the land owners. They have left some real messes in the past for us before by not keeping their word at the 18 inch length promise etc. Sometimes instead of cutting a tree trunk straight off at the bottom, they have just sliced it leaving a tall side and Hubby has gotten into trouble while riding the Quad in the woods. There has never been a controversy on who's wood it belonged to though......'The Land Owners'
My point is if you were riding down a State Road and they were cutting trees along someones property it belonged the the owners and if they were cutting wood on no one's property and then it would have been State Property, then it's their call..

wow very interesting and scary (that they weren't doing there job)