Pallet possession banned in Bozeman Ranger District

Popped tires and forest fires are no fun for anyone, and pallet fires have become such an issue in the Custer Gallatin National Forest — especially in Hyalite Canyon — that the Bozeman Ranger District (BRD) has implemented a new ban on possessing pallets within its jurisdiction.

Before Jan. 1, anyone who chose to burn pallets in the Custer Gallatin National Forest would have to get caught in the act by law enforcement to be charged with a crime. 

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) made efforts to educate the public on the dangers of pallet fires. “We’ve tried various methods to address the issue, including education, signage and enforcement, but the problem persists,” said Bozeman District Ranger for the USFS Corey Lewellen.

According to Kathryn Barker, the recreation program manager for the USFS in Bozeman, pallet fires cause damage to the forest, roads, watershed areas and vehicles — and this damage has a palpable effect on recreation opportunities.

Before the ban, there were reports of multiple pallet fires a week in the over 600,000 acres of public land comprising the BRD, according to the USDA. Moreover, USFS crews spent five hours per week picking up garbage and using magnet rollers to remove nails from pallet fire sites.

On Jan. 1, Forest Order 01-11-06-25-03 went into effect. people in all USFS land within the BRD of the Custer Gallatin National Forest are no longer allowed to possess or store any material containing nails, screws or other metal hardware — including pallets and construction debris — that could be used as firewood. 

The significant change here is the word “possess.” “The special order is not that there’s a ban on pallet fires. It’s that you cannot even have [a pallet] stored on [USFS] land,” Barker said. “If it is in the back of your truck, you can get pulled over and you can get a ticket. That’s one way we can help to curb [fires] from even starting.”

“The ability to enforce now is a lot easier because before, we’d have to find them when they were there at the campfires and so now we can try to nip it in the bud in advance,” Barker said.

According to her, there’s a lot of rationale behind the possession ban. “They leave a whole bunch of waste, especially in our watershed in Hyalite. They also, in the summer and springtime, are left burning. They’re never extinguished. Like the probability of human-caused wildfires is pretty big with these huge fires,” she said.

These pallet fires also threaten road access, especially during the winter. Tires are easily popped by the nails and debris left behind after the wood finishes burning. According to Barker, this risk is not only for community members' tires but also for the tires of winter plow drivers. 

“Snow plowing in Hyalite is not regular. It’s a last priority for the county after everything is done, so every chance they can get in there we want to maximize their ability to plow because it is so infrequent,” Barker said.

Barker suggested that students interested in supporting the policy help by spreading the word. “Have fun in the woods, have campfires, but do them in a designated fire pit and just don’t bring pallets,” she said.

According to Barker, there are also volunteer opportunities coming up in the spring through USFS partners. One will be held on May 17 in Hyalite through Friends of Hyalite, where anyone can sign up to help clean up the trash and pallet debris left behind from the winter. For more information, visit www.hyalite.org.

The USFS is also working to provide opportunities to volunteer via CatServe. — whether that is cleaning up pallet fires or not. In the future, that could also be a possibility for students looking to assist in the pallet fire issue or just help out the Hyalite and Custer Gallatin National Forest.

According to the MSU website, CatServe is an engagement platform for students and faculty to connect with partners in the Gallatin Valley and beyond to get involved in the community and help volunteer. 

To read more on Forest Order 01-11-06-25-03, head to https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/custergallatin/alerts-notices/?aid=92706