No Fee Permits to Gather Wood From Forests
If you are looking to gather wood for your indoor or outdoor fire place, you can gather it from the woods and pay no permit fee. According to WILX, you can start gathering wood as of Friday and the state of Michigan is waiving the permit fees for wood gathered from public forests. Usually there is a $20 fee but because offices that give out permits are closed they are waiving the fee.
The permits are free and you can get one here. You must carry that permit with you when you go into the woods. In addition, permits are good for designated state forest land in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula. You are allowed to collect up to five cords of wood, you can't sell or trade it, and you must collect the wood from trees that are already dead or down within 200 feet of a road.