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Montana, 2026 season, 6 offices

Montana Firewood Permits 2026: Prices, Seasons and Rules

Personal use firewood permits are free on Montana's national forests, cost a few dollars a cord on BLM and state trust land, and the state runs an exterior quarantine that keeps untreated ash wood from a long list of other states out of Montana.

6
Offices selling permits
5 federal, 1 state
$5 to $10
Price per cord
4 of them free
Quarantine
Bringing wood in
Montana Dept of Agriculture
1
Pest named
emerald ash borer
Office by office

Where to buy a firewood permit in Montana

6 offices in Montana sell a personal use firewood permit, 5 of them federal and 1 run by the state. A cord runs $5 to $10 depending on which office you buy from. 4 of them give the permit away.

Firewood permits on the Northern Region national forests are free and valid across the region, so one permit from any Montana forest office covers Forest Service land in the region.

Bitterroot National Forest

Permit on request

USDA Forest Service

Price
free
Wood you may cut
dead or down trees, except cedar
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
online, in person at any Bitterroot National Forest office
Personal-use firewood permits are free and available year-round online or in person at any Bitterroot National Forest office. The permit season resets annually on January 1.
Forest Products, Bitterroot National Forest, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

Only dead wood, and never cedar.

You can cut any dead standing or down tree for firewood with the exception of cedar.
Bitterroot National Forest. Read it at the source

Keep the permit visible on the dashboard, and travel together if two vehicles are hauling on one permit.

Keep your permit on the dashboard of your vehicle where it is visible through the windshield. Travel together when hauling wood in more than one vehicle for the same permit.
Bitterroot National Forest. Read it at the source

Leave snags that show signs of wildlife use.

Please don't cut trees with paint marks or signs, broken tops, trunk holes or visible nests.
Bitterroot National Forest. Read it at the source

Hauling pieces longer than six feet needs written approval first.

Hauling firewood in lengths greater than 6 feet must be approved first in writing at a Forest Service office.
Bitterroot National Forest. Read it at the source

Custer Gallatin National Forest

Permit on request

USDA Forest Service

Price
free
Minimum
4 cord
Household limit
12 cord
Wood you may cut
dead wood, standing or on the ground
Cutting season
Jan 1 to Dec 31
Where to buy
online
You must have a valid driver's license or photo ID to obtain a free firewood permit.
Permits, Custer Gallatin National Forest, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

Only dead wood counts as firewood.

Firewood is defined as dead wood - standing or on the ground.
Custer Gallatin National Forest. Read it at the source

Developed and busy areas and active timber sales are closed to cutting.

Do Not Cut firewood in recreation areas, campgrounds, summer home areas, in active timber sales, and in other areas of concentrated use.
Custer Gallatin National Forest. Read it at the source

Leave a low stump on a standing dead tree.

Cut a standing dead tree close to the ground, only leaving a low stump.
Custer Gallatin National Forest. Read it at the source

Chainsaw users must carry an extinguisher and shovel and run an approved spark arrestor.

Fire regulations require that chainsaw operators have a serviceable fire extinguisher and shovel available at all times. Saws must be equipped with an approved spark arresting screen.
Custer Gallatin National Forest. Read it at the source

The permit works anywhere in Region 1 and has to ride on the dashboard.

Permits are valid on National Forest lands in Region 1. You must keep your permit on the dashboard of your vehicle where it is visible through the windshield.
Custer Gallatin National Forest. Read it at the source

Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest

Permit on request

USDA Forest Service

Price
free
Minimum
4 cord
Household limit
12 cord
Wood you may cut
dead wood, standing or on the ground
Cutting season
Jan 1 to Dec 31
Where to buy
online
You must have a valid driver's license or photo ID to obtain a free firewood permit.
Forest Products, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

Make sure the ground under you is national forest.

Make certain you are cutting on the national forest. Your permit is only valid on public, national forest system lands.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Read it at the source

Developed and busy areas and active timber sales are closed to cutting.

Do Not Cut firewood in recreation areas, campgrounds, summer home areas, in active timber sales, and in other areas of concentrated use.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Read it at the source

Only dead wood counts as firewood.

Firewood is defined as dead wood - standing or on the ground.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Read it at the source

An online permit still has to be printed and carried.

Make sure to have a printed copy of your permit if you obtain an e-permit online.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Read it at the source

Lolo National Forest

2026 season

USDA Forest Service

Price
free
Household limit
up to 12 cords of wood for personal use
Cutting season
Until Dec 31
Where to buy
online through the E-Permits website
The Forest offers firewood use permits for up to 12 cords of wood for personal use.
Permits, Lolo National Forest, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

Applications for the current season are open and permits are issued year round.

Permit applications for the 2026 season are now open. Free firewood permits are available year-round through the E-Permits website .
Lolo National Forest. Read it at the source

A permit expires at the end of the calendar year it was issued in.

Permits are valid until December 31 of the year they are issued.
Lolo National Forest. Read it at the source

State trust land

Permit on request

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

Price
$10 per cord
Minimum
minimum purchase of two cords
Wood you may cut
personal use, including cutting of downed trees
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
in person at the local DNRC field office
The cost is $10.00 per cord, with a minimum purchase of two cords.
Firewood and Christmas Trees, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit from the local field office is required before cutting.

Firewood for personal use, including cutting of downed trees, requires a permit from the local DNRC field office .
State trust land. Read it at the source

Cutting firewood is a separate permit from the campfire and camping rules on trust land.

Cutting firewood on trust land requires a separate permit from the local DNRC field office .
State trust land. Read it at the source

Selling the wood puts it under the commercial timber permit instead.

For commercial firewood, see our Timber Permit page.
State trust land. Read it at the source

Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices

2025 season

Bureau of Land Management

Price
$5 per cord
Where to buy
online through the BLM Online Forest Product Permits webpage for Montana
Personal-use fuelwood permits issued by the Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula field offices cost only $5 per cord and can be applied for online.
Online fuelwood permits make stocking up winter firewood easy, affordable, Bureau of Land Management, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit runs 90 days and only covers the harvest areas the office maps.

Permits are valid for 90 days in designated harvest areas on BLM-administered lands.
Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices. Read it at the source

A BLM permit does not work on Forest Service ground, and the wood cannot be sold.

BLM-issued fuelwood permits are not valid on U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service lands. No resale or other commercial use of the wood is allowed.
Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices. Read it at the source

Campers can pick up a little dead and down wood to burn on the spot without a permit.

As a reminder, recreational campers may collect a small amount of “dead and down” wood for immediate use at a campsite without a permit.
Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices. Read it at the source

Carry a shovel and extinguisher and run a working spark arrestor.

Woodcutters must have a shovel and fire extinguisher ready for immediate use, and chainsaws must be equipped with a functioning spark arrestor.
Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices. Read it at the source

Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula Field Offices firewood permit page

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Moving firewood

Can you bring firewood into Montana?

Montana has a quarantine on the books, which means untreated firewood from outside the line may not come in. The rule is written by the Montana Department of Agriculture, and it sits below in its own words.

Quarantine

Montana restricts moving firewood into or within the state.

Montana runs an exterior quarantine against emerald ash borer. Untreated ash wood, including logs and limbs, may not enter the state from the quarantined states and provinces unless it is certified or heat treated.

Agency
Montana Department of Agriculture
Certified or treated wood
Heat treated and certified wood may come in
Pests named
emerald ash borer
To minimize the risk of introduction of emerald ash borer into Montana.
Emerald Ash Borer Exterior Quarantine MTQ-2021-001, Montana Department of Agriculture, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

What the rule says

Untreated ash wood that could carry the beetle is a regulated article.

Untreated ash trees, limbs, branches, logs, stumps, cut logs and roots capable of harboring live emerald ash borer;
Montana Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

Regulated wood cannot come in from a quarantined area without paperwork showing it complies.

All regulated articles are prohibited entry into Montana from an area under quarantine excepted as listed in the Quarantine. A phytosanitary certificate or other document attesting to Quarantine compliance must accompany all regulated articles.
Montana Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

Heat treatment to a stated core temperature and time is one accepted way in.

Heat treatment of 60 °C (140 °F) for 60 minutes at wood core or a temperature and duration approved by the Director and documented on a heat treatment certificate.
Montana Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

Wood that arrives out of compliance is sent back out of state, destroyed or treated at the owner's cost.

Disposition of regulated articles arriving in Montana in violation of the Quarantine shall be immediately sent out of state, destroyed, or treated by a method and in a manner directed by the Montana State Plant Regulatory Official.
Montana Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

The insect named in the Montana rule is emerald ash borer. A beetle covers a few hundred yards in a season on its own wings, and several hundred miles in an afternoon in the bed of a pickup, which is the whole reason the rule exists.

A slender metallic green beetle about half an inch long resting on pale cracked tree bark
The emerald ash borer, photographed by USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine. It flies only a short way on its own; a load of untreated firewood carries it as far as the truck goes, which is why more states name it in their firewood rules than any other pest. “Plant Protection and Quarantine (34954841290)”, APHIS.gov, Public domain
When to cut

Firewood cutting season in Montana

Each office sets its own window, and most of them close it when fire danger rises or the roads soften. The dates those offices have posted:

  • Custer Gallatin National ForestJan 1 to Dec 31
  • Helena-Lewis and Clark National ForestJan 1 to Dec 31
  • Lolo National ForestUntil Dec 31

Offices close their gates for weather and fire restrictions inside these windows, so the office’s own page is the one to check the week you go.

Nearby

What a cord costs in the states next door

A permit is only good on the land the office manages, so a cheaper cord across the line still has to obey whatever Montana says about firewood arriving. The nearest states posting a price by the cord:

  1. Idaho$5 to $6.25
  2. South Dakota$5
  3. Wyoming$5 to $7

Montana firewood permit questions

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Firewood permits in other states

Montana heating oil and propane pricesWhat a gallon costs this winter, and how that compares with a cord.First snow in MontanaWhen the first measurable snow usually falls, city by city.Montana Christmas tree permitsThe other permit the same ranger district sells each winter.Firewood permits by stateEvery price by the cord in one table, with the rule on moving wood.
An open pole woodshed in a spruce clearing, one bay filled with stacked cordwood, a hydraulic log splitter in the foreground
An Alaska woodshed in summer with the winter stacked and the splitter still out. A cord is a stack four feet by four feet by eight feet, and that is the unit nearly every permit is priced in. “Alaska woodshed”, Keith Parker, CC BY-SA 2.0

Compiled September 22, 2026 from Forest Products, Bitterroot National Forest, USDA Forest Service and the other agency pages linked beside each quote above. Prices, seasons and quarantine boundaries change, so the agency’s own page is the one to read before you load a truck. Every state is in the national firewood permit guide.