For those that heat the house with wood, permits are now available.

If you are in need of fuelwood for your home, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources now has permits available for you to gather dead and downed trees in certain areas of Michigan's state forests. This will mark the second year in a row that the Department of Natural Resources will be supplying those permits for free to help those who might be facing economic hardship due to COVID-19.

We are trying to make the permit process as simple and effective as possible,” said Jeff Stampfly, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division.

Permits can be acquired online at michigan.gov/fuelwood. If you are interested, you will first want to locate an area that you would like to collect from using the Fuelwood Map button. Next, complete the forms using the Fuelwood Permit button. When you're finished you simply print, sign, and carry the permit with you when you are out collecting your fuelwood.

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Keep in mind, most of the collection areas are located in the Upper Peninsula and the northern parts of the Lower Peninsula. The closest county to Genesee County available to collect wood in is Midland County. Be sure to investigate or visit the areas that you want to collect from to make sure they are accessible.

The Fuelwood permits allow you to collect up to five cords of wood per household, which cannot be resold or traded. Keep in mind that the wood must be dead and down within 200 feet of a road and no off-road vehicles can be used to collect it. Each permit is good for 90 days.

Source: Michigan DNR

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