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transporting wood from Kauai to the mainland

Scott Hoefs

Scott Hoefs

Joined
Jan 30, 2024
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Location
North Bend, OR
HI all,

Surfed online to try to find the answer and got mixed results. My wife and I are traveling to Kauai for our 25th wedding anniversary next weekend. :oops: I'm going to miss the symposium, I know. I found an ad where someone is clearing 1 acre of ground and giving away the wood. Does anyone know if I can bring home un-processed wood from Kauai to the mainland? I might look into shipping some also. Thanks for your help

Also, is there a turning club on Kauai? I found old posts of a club but nothing new.
 
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According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), importers must obtain a PPQ Form 585 permit in order to import logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood products into the U.S. Additionally, if the wood product being imported is regulated under CITES, importers must obtain a PPQ Form 621 permit. https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/importing-wood-to-usa/#:~:text=According to the USDA Animal,obtain a PPQ Form 621

 
I went to Maui and the Big Island in January. Brought home some small sections of milo log, pheasant wood, and mango. All unprocessed wood. Richard above mentioned importing above. Hawaii is a US state so you are not importing wood from one country to another. The only thing I could find as a restriction is in regards to plants or fruit. I went to a TJ Maxx and bought a big hard side cheap suitcase oon rollers and only had to pay the excess weight fee at the airport. The turner I got the wood from says guys that visit him take wood to the mainland all the time from his wood pile and he's never heard any issues.

Note: at the airport in Kona on the big Island they did have actual bag scanners not just when you checked in but also at the boarding gate before you boarded the plane. They had signs by them and they were only searching for fruit and plants. When I checked in, the gate agent said my bag was overweight and asked what it was. I told her I was a woodworker and it was full of local woods we don't have back in Indiana. Se smiled and said the fee was $50 for the overweight charge. There was no discussion or concern on whether it was processed wood or not. Which honestly surprised me. If there are concerned aboutt bugs in live plants or fruit why not be concerned about bugs in the bark of unprocessed wood? But, I kept my mouth shut and paid the $50 since it was cheaper than what I could buy and ship all that wood back home for. And I did the same 5yrs ago on our last trip to Hawaii. I have aso had small half log sections shipped. If it's cut to 11.5"x11.5"x6" it will fit in a large flat rate USPS box and that's about $25 or so no matter how heavy. No customs forms or anything needs to be filled out.

Your results may vary!😀 Good Luck and have a great trip!!!
 
Dave Landers said:

Information for Travelers From Hawaii to the U.S. Mainland, Alaska, or Guam | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Travelers to the U.S. mainland, Alaska, and Guam must present all food, plants, and other agricultural items at the airport before leaving Hawaii.
www.aphis.usda.gov
  • Agricultural items from Hawaii ALLOWED into the U.S. Mainland
    • Miscellaneous
      • Wood
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I saw that, pretty vague word. I would seriously doubt that includes wood with bark on it.


What are USDA's restrictions for importing wooden products from another country?​


Nov 29, 2022​

KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE
If the wood articles you wish to import are made of finished lumber—i.e., wood that has been planed on all sides and does not contain any bark—the objects are not required to undergo any fumigation or heat treatment, and you are not required to obtain an import permit from the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA). The items will be inspected upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry. You will also be required to fill out a Lacey Act declaration, specifying exactly where all components of the products originated. You can learn more about the requirements, as well as download the declaration form, by visiting APHIS | Lacey Act.

However, USDA requires permits for the importation of logs, lumber, and other un-manufactured wood products into the United States. If the veneer products you wish to import are unfinished, you should fill out PPQ Form 585, “Permit Application to Import Timber or Timber Products,” which can be found at Plant Health Permits. Please note that import permits can only be issued to U.S. citizens at a U.S. address and may take up to 1 month to process. To speak to a USDA Plant Permit specialist, please call 301-851-2046 (Toll free: 1-877-770-5990) or email plantproducts.permits@usda.gov.
 
Richard Coers said:
I saw that, pretty vague word. I would seriously doubt that includes wood with bark on it.


What are USDA's restrictions for importing wooden products from another country?​


Nov 29, 2022​

KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE
If the wood articles you wish to import are made of finished lumber—i.e., wood that has been planed on all sides and does not contain any bark—the objects are not required to undergo any fumigation or heat treatment, and you are not required to obtain an import permit from the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA). The items will be inspected upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry. You will also be required to fill out a Lacey Act declaration, specifying exactly where all components of the products originated. You can learn more about the requirements, as well as download the declaration form, by visiting APHIS | Lacey Act.

However, USDA requires permits for the importation of logs, lumber, and other un-manufactured wood products into the United States. If the veneer products you wish to import are unfinished, you should fill out PPQ Form 585, “Permit Application to Import Timber or Timber Products,” which can be found at Plant Health Permits. Please note that import permits can only be issued to U.S. citizens at a U.S. address and may take up to 1 month to process. To speak to a USDA Plant Permit specialist, please call 301-851-2046 (Toll free: 1-877-770-5990) or email plantproducts.permits@usda.gov.
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Umm, you do realize that Hawaii is not "another country", right? As someone pointed out earlier, coming from Hawaii, those import restrictions do not apply. Now if the wood was coming from some other country INTO Hawaii, then obviously it would apply *IN HAWAII*

- However as far as interstate wood travel, I believe it is on a state by state basis, so the only place where you might run afoul of regulations would be when you arrive home from Hawaii where your state's regulations might apply. (assuming Hawaii doesn't have any regulations about the wood LEAVING their state.)
 
Scott Hoefs said:
HI all,

Surfed online to try to find the answer and got mixed results. My wife and I are traveling to Kauai for our 25th wedding anniversary next weekend. :oops: I'm going to miss the symposium, I know. I found an ad where someone is clearing 1 acre of ground and giving away the wood. Does anyone know if I can bring home un-processed wood from Kauai to the mainland? I might look into shipping some also. Thanks for your help

Also, is there a turning club on Kauai? I found old posts of a club but nothing new.
Click to expand...
Our wedding anniversary is Memorial Day weekend too. My lovely wife agreed to spend the weekend at the symposium in Portland, and then we are going to a hot spring resort for a couple of days afterwards. I'm bringing a piece to the symposium made from Hawaiian mango wood that was shipped here without any questions.
 
Brian Gustin said:
Umm, you do realize that Hawaii is not "another country", right? As someone pointed out earlier, coming from Hawaii, those import restrictions do not apply. Now if the wood was coming from some other country INTO Hawaii, then obviously it would apply *IN HAWAII*

- However as far as interstate wood travel, I believe it is on a state by state basis, so the only place where you might run afoul of regulations would be when you arrive home from Hawaii where your state's regulations might apply. (assuming Hawaii doesn't have any regulations about the wood LEAVING their state.)
Click to expand...
Of course it's not a different country, but it is not in the contagious United States either. What's the difference from imported contaminated skids from China or Japan or Hawaii. We didn't have emerald ash bore until they came in from another part of the world. Hawaii is another part of the world isn't it? Based on your evaluation, Hawaii will let in ash logs that are full of emerald ash bore because it's a state.
 
I've shipped pallets of wood from the Big Island to Texas several times. The only issue was with ohia, which had to be inspected for a fungus that they're trying to keep off the other islands as the shipment would be going through Oahu.
 
It has been many years, but I checked at the airport when we arrived and was told that it was OK if I did not include any bark of the tree. I purchased a big RubberMaid container and a roll of duct tape. Filled it with wood. Showed it to the Ag inspector when I went home. Taped it up after he checked the wood. Put it on the plane as a piece of luggage.
 
Richard Coers said:
Hawaii is another part of the world isn't it? Based on your evaluation, Hawaii will let in ash logs that are full of emerald ash bore because it's a state.
Click to expand...
Nope not my evaluation at all. Bring in wood from another state, you'd be subject to Hawaii's regulations on importing wood to their state, I would imagine, so it really would be dependent on what Hawaii's regulations are in that regard. However, bring in wood from another country, then Federal customs regulations trumps the state's regulations, as the imports obviously would have to clear customs.

Likewise bringing wood from Hawaii to someplace like Pennsylvania, P.A. might have something to say about that. (I believe they do, I have not looked up the specifics as I'd be unlikely in my lifetime to ever see Hawaii, but I'm sure there are Bureau of Forestry regulations on that - Enforcement on the other hand, I'd have to wonder about, not sure how they'd even KNOW.)

Pennsylvania does have restrictions on bringing in or transporting wood- even across regional areas - We are in a low population county with lots of "flatlander" camp owners from downstate and from other states - Campfire wood is an excellent seasonal business because of the Bureau of Forestry restrictions on bringing your own firewood from other areas. (I usually sell out all my scraps and offcuts every summer when I bag it up in 1 cu. ft bags and sell it at 5 bucks a bag)

But as noted each state has its own regulations - Federal import regulations just apply on importing wood from other countries (As they will be coming through Customs, whereas you don't have to clear customs when travelling between states.)
 
Richard Coers said:
Of course it's not a different country, but it is not in the contagious United States either. What's the difference from imported contaminated skids from China or Japan or Hawaii. We didn't have emerald ash bore until they came in from another part of the world. Hawaii is another part of the world isn't it? Based on your evaluation, Hawaii will let in ash logs that are full of emerald ash bore because it's a state.
Click to expand...
Richard the rules you quote are interesting but they do not apply. If you carry wood from Hawaii to one of the other 49 states you are not importing it from another country. End of story. The rules only apply when arriving from another country. When you arrive on the mainland from Hawaii you are not going through a port of entry. It is only a port of entry when you arrive from another country and go through customs, immigration and/or agriculture inspections.

Regardless of the logic, that's just the way it is, and why so many have reported that they have not had any problems.

I've made the trip more times than I can count (I used to live in Hawaii) and I've never been inspected for anything upon arrival anywhere on the mainland. I just pick up my bags and leave the airport, just like flying from Dallas to Chicago.
 
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