May 21, 2025
AUGUSTA, Maine – Just in time for the summer camping season, travelers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire heading to Maine will start seeing bold, eye-catching billboards with a simple message: Keep Campfires Wicked Good – Use Local Firewood.
This public awareness campaign, launched by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Maine Forest Service, and Plant Health Programs, uses clean, unbranded graphics and a high-impact message to reach would-be campers before they cross the border. The campaign aims to prevent the spread of invasive forest pests by discouraging the movement of firewood into Maine’s forests and parks.
“These billboards are a reminder that even well-intentioned campers can unknowingly carry tree-killing insects and diseases into our state,” said Maine State Forester Patty Cormier. Keeping Maines forests healthy is a shared responsibility, and not moving firewood is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help.
The campaign, funded by a USDA APHIS cooperative agreement, begins this week and runs through September. A series of three billboard designs completes the campaign, each featuring a dark brown woodgrain background with vivid cream-colored letters and the following phrases:
- Camp Smart. Keep Maine Beautiful. Leave Firewood at Home
- Keep Campfires Wicked Good. Use Local Firewood
- Hey Bub, Bugs Are Lurking. Leave Firewood at Home
The billboards are intentionally minimalist: no logos, no website links, just a clear directive designed to stick in the minds of travelers. The simplicity is strategic. Including branding or URLs could distract from the core message, especially on fast-moving highways.
Insider’s Take: We had to include and comment on this campaign since Maine is one of the four states in the US that has a state-wide ban on billboards. So they are ugly in our state, but effective advertising as long as we put them up in our neighbors yard? Even Maine knows in their heart that billboards are the best way to get the message out to the public. Go figure….
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