Moving firewood in Montana: emerald ash borer exterior quarantine MTQ-2021-001, listed areas and heat treatment

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the Montana Department of Agriculture order signed January 13, 2021, the Don't Move Firewood Montana summary and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation forest pest page.

What the order says

The Emerald Ash Borer Exterior Quarantine, MTQ-2021-001, says its reason is to lower the risk of bringing emerald ash borer into Montana, and that the insect was not known to occur anywhere in the state when it was signed. The order says the quarantine is an emergency quarantine adopted as a short-term quarantine, and that it is reviewed annually.

Regulated area

The whole of 32 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The whole of six Canadian provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
The South Dakota counties of Lincoln, Minnehaha and Turner.
The Colorado areas regulated as infested by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, any area later found infested, and any area the director designates.

Regulated articles

The order covers emerald ash borer in any living stage, all ash nursery stock of the genus Fraxinus, and untreated ash trees, limbs, branches, logs, stumps, cut logs and roots that could harbor live borers. It also covers any other plant, product or means of conveyance the director decides is a risk. The text names ash wood, not other hardwood firewood.

Conditions for entry

The order prohibits entry of regulated articles from a quarantined area, and says a phytosanitary certificate or other document showing compliance must go with them. Articles may be brought in under three conditions.

Documentation of the origin of each shipment, as a certificate, bill of lading or invoice, naming the state or province and the county or parish if the load is from an infested place.
Treatment in a way approved by the regulator in the state of origin, shown on a phytosanitary certificate or compliance agreement.
Heat treatment of 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) for 60 minutes at the wood core, or a temperature and time the director approves, shown on a heat treatment certificate.

Loads that arrive against the order are sent out of state, destroyed or treated as the Montana State Plant Regulatory Official directs, at the owner's cost. The order says violations carry civil penalties under Administrative Rules of Montana 4.12.1307. That rule's text was not readable on the rules site on October 8, 2026, so no penalty figure is given here.

Other Montana pages

According to the Don't Move Firewood Montana summary, marked accurate as of February 2026, it is against state or federal law to bring untreated firewood into Montana from most out-of-state sources. It names the rule against ash firewood from known infested areas, and says Montana State Parks strongly encourages visitors to leave firewood at home and buy it near the campground. The forest insects and diseases page of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation describes its Forest Pest Management Program and lists an emerald ash borer identification webinar on October 15, 2026, saying that the beetle had not been detected in Montana when the page was read on October 8, 2026.

For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood. Neighbouring North Dakota has its own page on moving firewood in North Dakota.