Firewood Sales

The South St. Louis County firewood permit process is changing!

Starting June 1st, 2008, sites available for firewood permits in southern St. Louis County will be posted on the St. Louis County website (www.co.st-louis.mn.us, under Departments, Land Department, Firewood Sales). Permits will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Individuals wishing to obtain a firewood permit from south St. Louis County lands should monitor the website until a site is advertised for a location which interests them. If you do not have internet access, you may call or stop by our office and we will let you know if we have any sites available. A permit may be purchased from the Pike Lake Land Department office at 5713 Old Miller Trunk Hwy, Duluth, MN 55811.

Permit Specifics

* The cost of each permit is $20.00 and must be in the form of a check or money order made out to the St. Louis County Auditor. Sorry, we do not accept cash.

* Up to 5 cords (5 pick up loads) of wood may be taken per permit.

* The duration of each permit is 6 weeks.

* House holds may only have one active permit at any one time.

* The County will no longer be keeping a waiting list for firewood requests. Firewood permits will be sold to the first individual purchasing it from the Pike Lake Office.

* Firewood will be for household use only and not sold for resale.

Why the Change?

This change is being implemented with the intent to streamline the permitting process. For several years, the County has kept a waiting list for individuals requesting a firewood permit. This list proved cumbersome since many individuals on the list were difficult to reach during business hours. The waiting list system proved costly in personnel time and inflexible to providing permits to willing purchasers farther down the list.

Firewood Availability

The number of sites available for firewood permits has decreased in recent years. This is due to a combination of factors including increased utilization of logging slash from many operators, environmental requirements that a percentage of logging slash remain and be distributed on site, and the downturn in the wood products industry. As the County will have only a limited number of sites available for firewood in the future and that many logging sites have remote or winter only access, individuals are encouraged to explore other means of obtaining firewood.

Please watch this site for information on North Area firewood sales.