Cooperative Agreement AP26PPQFO000C324

AWARD PURPOSE: MICHIGAN BOASTS 20.2 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST. THE MOST RECENT AVAILABLE DATA REVEALS THAT IN 2022 MICHIGAN'S FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY ADDED $26 BILLION TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY. FIREWOOD IS A WELL-KNOWN VECTOR FOR TRANSPORTING TREE-KILLING DISEASES, WOOD BORING INSECTS, AND INSECTS THAT LAY EGGS ON BARK, THAT INFEST OTHERWISE HEALTHY FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. FOREST PESTS, ONCE INTRODUCED, OFTEN LEAD TO COMPLETE TREE SPECIES MORTALITY, AS WAS SEEN WHEN EMERALD ASH BORER RIPPED THROUGH MICHIGAN IN THE EARLY 2000S. THIS OUTREACH PROJECT WILL PROVIDE WIDESPREAD OUTREACH TO CAMPERS, INDUSTRY, AND TRAVELERS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF FIREWOOD AS A PATHWAY FOR THE SPREAD OF TREE KILLING INVASIVE SPECIES. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS A WIDE SWEEPING OUTREACH CAMPAIGN ON THE DANGERS OF MOVING INVASIVE SPECIES IN FIREWOOD. ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE BILLBOARD MESSAGING, POSTERS, PUBLIC OUTREACH EVENTS, ETC. IN ADDITION, WORK TO INCREASE MARKETING OF SAFE FIREWOOD PRACTICES AS OUTLINED IN THE APPROVED WORKPLAN. DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES SUBMITS A BI-ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE MICHIGAN STATE PLANT HEALTH DIRECTOR'S OFFICE. ALONG WITH DATA SUBMISSIONS, MONTHLY CONFERENCE CALLS AND OTHER NON-FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS OCCURS THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE FOR THIS AWARD. THE CRITERIA USED TO EVALUATE THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE THE NUMBER OF SITES SURVEYED, SURVEY DATES, SURVEY METHODS EMPLOYED, NUMBER OF SAMPLES COLLECTED, SAMPLE ANALYSIS DATES, SAMPLE ANALYSIS RESULTS, AND DATA ENTRY. INTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES): THE MOST DIRECT BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS OF FIREWOOD AS A VECTOR FOR INVASIVE SPECIES SPREAD, AND HENCE TREE MORTALITY, AND WILL GO FURTHER BY ENCOURAGING A CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR HEAT-TREATED OR LOCAL FIREWOOD WHEN CAMPING. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES, IF KNOWN OR SPECIFIED AT THE TIME OF AWARD: GUD MARKETING.