New personal-use firewood permits from the U.S. Forest Service will be available beginning on Thursday, April 1.

Current permits expire on March 31 and residents interested in gathering firewood for personal use will need a new permit.

A minimum four-cord personal use firewood permit costs $20. A standard cord of firewood measures 4-by-4-by-8 feet. Individuals are entitled to purchase a total of 12 cords of firewood during the permit year under the personal-use program. 

The permit year runs April 1 through March 31, 2011.

The personal-use wood permit allows individuals to remove downed timber or to cut standing dead under most conditions on National Forest and Grassland and Bureau of Land Management lands within Montana and northern Idaho and portions of North Dakota and South Dakota. Wood gatherers are asked to contact the local Ranger District offices to see if there are any special, local restrictions or requirements.

Firewood obtained under the permits is not intended for commercial use. Woodcutters must have their permit with them while harvesting firewood; they must have an approved and maintained spark arrester on chainsaws and splitters, and during the proclaimed fire season they must have a shovel and fire extinguisher (8-ounce liquid  or 1-pound dry chemical type) handy in the event of a wildfire.

Officials said funds collected from the sale of firewood permits are used to help defray the costs of the forest’s firewood program.

For more information regarding purchasing a permit or obtaining road access maps, call the Kootenai National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Libby at 293-6211 or any of the local Kootenai National Forest Ranger District offices.