Moving firewood in Louisiana: the emerald ash borer quarantine, ten parishes and hardwood firewood

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the department's own copy of the emerald ash borer quarantine, Subchapter F, section 167, and the department's emerald ash borer pages, read October 9, 2026.

The quarantine text

According to the department's copy of the regulation, the quarantine is issued because the state entomologist has determined that emerald ash borer has been found in the state and may be prevented, controlled or eradicated by quarantine. The historical note under the text lists its promulgation in December 2015 and amendments in February 2017, September 2018 and October 2019.

The quarantined parishes

The regulation lists the entire parishes of Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, Jackson, Morehouse, Lincoln, Ouachita, Union and Webster. It adds that a declaration covering any other parish or area is published in the official journal of the state and in the Louisiana Register. The department's quarantine map is titled 2019 Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine and carries a key for quarantined parishes.

Regulated articles

The regulation says no regulated article is moved out of a quarantined area except as the section provides. It names these articles as hosts of the beetle:

The emerald ash borer in all of its life stages.
Firewood of all hardwood (non-coniferous) species.
Nursery stock, green lumber and other material of the genus Fraxinus, living, dead, cut or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips.
Any other article, product or means of conveyance that an inspector determines presents a risk of spreading the beetle, once the inspector notifies the person in possession.

Conditions for moving them

The regulation allows regulated articles to move from a quarantined area to a non-quarantined area, inside or outside Louisiana, only under one of three conditions.

Condition	What the regulation says
Certificate or limited permit	The articles travel with a certificate or limited permit issued by the department and attached as the federal emerald ash borer requirements provide
Federal experimental movement	The articles have no certificate or permit but the United States Department of Agriculture moves them for experimental or scientific purposes
Through movement	The articles started outside any quarantined area and pass through one: the points of origin and destination are on a waybill, the load is in an enclosed vehicle or completely covered, it goes directly through without stopping except for refuelling or traffic, or has been stored, packed or handled at places an inspector approved, and it has not been combined with other articles so as to lose its identity

Compliance agreements and penalties

The regulation lets persons or businesses that grow, handle or move regulated articles inside the state enter a compliance agreement with the department after reviewing each provision with an inspector. An inspector may cancel an agreement orally or in writing when the holder has not complied. An oral cancellation takes effect at once and is confirmed in writing when circumstances permit. The holder may appeal in writing within 10 days after the written notice, a hearing may be held on a disputed material fact, and the department grants or denies the appeal in writing with reasons. The regulation says anyone violating the quarantine is subject to the remedies and penalties in Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:1653, and it cites R.S. 3:1652 and 3:1653 as its authority.

What the department's other pages say

The department's emerald ash borer FAQ says that transporting any hardwood firewood outside the quarantined areas is illegal, and that many infestations began when people moved infested ash nursery trees, logs or firewood into uninfested areas. It says the department suggests buying all firewood within 10 miles of where it will be used. It names the department's Horticulture and Quarantine Division, with USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine, as the bodies handling the regulatory measures, and gives 225-952-8100 as the division's number.

The department's one-page pest profile, marked as updated March 2026 by the state entomologist, words the status differently. It says no federal quarantine is in place and that the state is "in the process of" implementing a quarantine that includes the same ten parishes. The regulation text, the FAQ and the profile were not written on the same date, and the pages do not say which supersedes the others. The department's quarantine information page lists emerald ash borer beside citrus canker, guava root-knot nematode and sweet potato weevil, and links the FAQ, the map and the rules, which it files under State Register, Title 7, Part XV. It also names the Crop Pest and Diseases Law, R.S. 3:1651 to 3:1656, among related links.

For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.