Local residents can beef up their firewood pile, as state park officials are prepping a construction site to hold a dredge area.
“We are working towards building a big Dredge Material Relocation Area (DMRA),” Grand Lake St. Marys State Park Interim Park Manager Brian Miller said, noting the site of the new DMRA will be at the West Bank of Grand Lake St. Marys near the Celina Rotary Dog Park. “There is a wooded area to the north of it, where we are removing trees.”
Miller noted the trees being removed will be set near the site.
“They will be available to the public to cut up for firewood,” Miller said.
Mud will be pumped into the approximately 15-acre DMRA.
“It gives us a much disposable area for the materials coming out of the Coldwater Creek area, a major tributary into the lake,” Miller said.
He noted February is the goal for the DMRA, when they will be moving in the large equipment and putting up the walls.
In the meantime, Miller noted they will be cutting down the trees and putting them near the small, gravel parking lot, and residents can go and pick up as much wood as they would like.
“They can go out during the daylight hours,” Miller said. “They should keep their vehicle at the lot area — they can cut the wood and remove it from there.”
He stressed residents should stick with the already removed trees.
“They cannot take any of the standing trees,” he said, adding there is no limit on the number of trees a resident can take.
The lot, Miller noted, is the site of a former DMRA.
“In the 1990s, it was used for the same reason, so most of the tree growth is fairly young,” he said. “(These trees) are a resource to (the public) for their firewood.”
Miller noted residents can start picking up the wood today.