Morro Bay State Park is proud to kick off the Buy It Where You Burn It (BIWYBI) pilot program at the Morro Bay State Park campground. This initiative is made possible by a collaboration between San Luis Obispo Coast District California State Parks and our nonprofit partner, Central Coast State Parks Association (CCSPA).
Buying and burning firewood local to your campsite, or within the same county, can help reduce the spread of pests & pathogens. Pests like beetles can hide their larvae inside wood. When wood is moved, pests can invade new areas, spreading disease or infesting forests.
In our local State Parks, a native beetle can spread a non-native fungus, Fusarium circinatum, or pitch canker. Many of the pines planted in the Morro Bay State Park campground have died in recent years due to pitch canker infections. This fungus can also be spread by transporting wood across county borders.
Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum), or SOD, is a disease that has killed millions of trees throughout California since its introduction to the state in the mid-1990s. SOD can infest multiple types of plants; some species are killed, some are host plants that drive the spread of infection, and others can survive the infection. SOD has spread to 16 coastal counties in California, from Monterey north into the state of Oregon. Trees in SLO County have not yet tested positive for SOD, and buying local wood/avoiding bringing wood from other counties help reduce risk of infection within our parks and county.
Firewood available for sale through the BIWYBI program is sourced from local California State Parks during routine tree trimming or removal by State Park natural resource and maintenance crews.
Your purchase of local firewood at Morro Bay State Park and burning it on site helps contribute to a healthy ecosystem.
Proceeds from the BIWYBI firewood sales go towards CCSPA’s mission of funding and supporting local State Park interpretive and educational programs. For more information about CCSPA and their mission, please visit their website at www.centralcoastparks.org.