Permits for woodcutting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be available as of Tuesday, Oct. 15.
The permits will allow residents to cut personal use firewood. Woodcutting will be permitted alone Swan Lake, Swanson River and Funny River Roads, within Dolly Varden Campground and unburned areas within Upper Skilak and Lower Skilak Campgrounds, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Cutting is limited to trees that are dead and downed within the designated permit areas. Standing trees may not be felled.
Vehicles are prohibited beyond the shoulders of the main roads. ATVs are also prohibited. Excess limbs and woody debris must be piled outside of campsites within campgrounds.
Each permit allows residents to collect up to five cords of firewood per household. The wood is for personal use only, and all other woodcutting is prohibited, except for the cutting of dead and downed wood that may be used for campfires while camping on the refuge.
Permits will expire and the areas will be closed to woodcutting March 31, 2020. Weather conditions or wood depletion may prompt an earlier closure by the refuge manager.
Permits are free of charge.
Residents can obtain permits, maps and instructions for special conditions starting Tuesday at the refuge headquarters on Ski Hill Road in Soldotna.
The headquarters is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
A map shows the Funny River Road woodcutting area. (Image courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
