Minimiza Campfire Impacts

The trend in the backcountry is to reduce the use of campfires, and when having one, keeping it small and contained. In Maine there are appropriate places to have campfires, and guidelines for them.

Almost all of the land along Maine's AT is managed for commercial production of timber, a staple of Maine's economy. For this reason THE USE OF OPEN WOOD FIRE IS PROHIBITED BY MAINE LAW unless you obtain a valid fire permit, or camp at a site authorized by the Maine Forest Service. Most established campsites on the AT are authorized sites. There is one, centrally located fire ring, for use at these sites.

Location has a lot to do with how much impact your fire will have. Places like Horns Pond and Bigelow Col, in the Bigelow Preserve are located in the Sub-Alpine Zone. Their soil layer is fairly thin, which means the forest relies on down and dead wood to decompose and replenish the supply. Harsher conditions challenge plants to establish themselves, so the trampling done in gathering firewood has a greater impact.

An LNT fire starts with identifying whether your immediate surroundings can handle the harvesting of firewood. Take into consideration elevation, plant growth, and use of the site.

• Choose wood no larger than your wrist. This way you can burn it down to ash, the appropriate way to put out a fire.
• Only gather DOWN & DEAD wood for your fire. If it is still standing, leave it be. There needs to be a balance of organic material removed from the woods and material left for decomposing and replenishing the forest floor.
• Walk back down the main hiking trail a 1/2 mile or so away from the campsite to gather wood. Use the dispersal method when you head off the trail so you won't create new trails and trample vegetation.
• Only burn paper. Plastics are better packed out, aluminum foil and cans don't reach a hot enough temperature to melt in our small fires. Food scraps rarely end up burning, but litter the fire and invite squirrels and mice. Fires are not be relied upon as a method for dealing with waste.
• Put out your fire correctly. In dry, warm weather, the ground is capable of retaining the heat from your fire. Roots will get hot enough to combust starting a fire after you are long gone down the trail. Proper extinguishing is to burn all debris in the fire to ash. Generously douse with water. Allow ash to cool, and the next day spread cool ash in the woods. Douse again with water if necessary. DO NOT LEAVE CHARRED STUMPS AND STICKS IN THE PIT. Not only is it an eye sore, but gives a poor message to the next visitors.

Gather firewood away from camp and bring a saw to eliminate dragging.