The cut-your-own wood harvesting program that state officials plan to expand is dubbed "Wood Warms".
It’s a multiyear initiative under which state lands – including state forests – would have certain lots tagged for use by do-it-yourselfers, on a first-come first-served basis. It’s been in existence in parts of the state for years, but rising fuel costs have prompted the state to look to expand it.
The program also calls for the establishment of "firewood concentration yards,’ where loggers would place split wood in yards – probably state transportation garages – for pickup by low- to middle-income Vermonters who need it to heat their homes and sign up in advance.
Jonathan Wood, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, says the cut-your-own initiative won’t help this winter, since the freshly cut wood won’t be seasoned enough to burn, but he says some of the wood in the "firewood concentration yards" will be available.