Collecting deadwood – permitted, safe and gentle

Fresh wood contains a lot of water. When it burns, this water must first evaporate, and that costs energy – the fire burns cooler, smokes and goes out more easily. Dead wood that has lain dry has already lost much of its water. It catches more easily, burns hotter and makes less smoke. So deadwood is not only the gentler choice but also the better one.

At the same time, deadwood is an important part of the forest. Many insects, fungi and other organisms live in it and slowly break it down into new soil. Woodpeckers and other birds look for food there. Clearing a spot completely takes away these creatures' habitat. So the rule is: collect widely spread, do not take everything, and leave rotten, wet wood lying – it burns poorly anyway.

The proven rule of thumb from Leave No Trace is: dead and down wood that can be broken by hand. Thin wood burns down cleanly and leaves fewer half-charred remains. You can cut thicker pieces to length with a folding saw; splitting is only needed when it really has to be.

Whether you may collect wood, camp and light fires is governed very differently by landowners and local rules. In some areas collecting fallen wood is allowed, in others you need permission, and in protected areas it is often banned completely. Check local rules before the trip, and if in doubt ask the landowner or the responsible authority. This entry is not legal advice.

Even where collecting wood is allowed, fires may be banned at the moment – for example in dry spells with high wildfire danger. Find out about current warnings and fire bans. Where collecting is not allowed, take a stove or bring firewood. Note: in many places firewood should not be moved over long distances because pests can travel in it – local guidance applies here too.

The biggest danger when collecting wood comes from above. Dead trees, broken branches still hanging in the canopy and leaning trunks can fall without warning – especially in wind, but on calm days too. So look up before you collect anywhere and avoid such spots. Dead trees or hung-up branches are never pulled or shaken.

After storms, fallen trees often lie criss-crossed on top of each other. Many of these trunks are under enormous tension, like a drawn bow. If such a trunk is sawn, it can suddenly spring up or roll away. Windthrow areas like this are for trained professionals – you avoid them.

While collecting, work gloves protect against splinters and thorns. Saw only from a firm stance, with the wood securely supported and at a distance from others. Felling trees is explicitly not part of this: it is dangerous and only permissible with training and permission.

Good firewood snaps with a clear, dry crack. If it only bends, or feels soft and heavy, it is either still alive or already rotten and wet. Wood lying directly on damp ground is often wet inside; branches lying a little raised on others are usually drier.

Estimate beforehand how much you need and plan a small fire. A small fire is enough for cooking and warmth and uses much less wood. Collect away from the camp and spread over a larger area so that no bare patch is left. When you break camp, scatter any leftover wood naturally again.

In popular areas there is often hardly any deadwood left around campsites, because many people have collected before you. That is a good sign that a stove is the better choice there. Leave No Trace generally recommends keeping fires small and using existing fire rings where they exist.

This entry does not identify tree or plant species. For collecting firewood that is not necessary either: what matters is that the wood is dead, dry, lying on the ground and thin enough – and that you are allowed to take it.