A Haywood County quarantine on the movement black walnut logs or firewood imposed by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services should have only a modest impact economically.

Phil Wilson, the agriculture department’s plant pest administrator, said a black walnut tree infested with thousand cankers disease was found in the Cataloochee section of  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That triggered a county-wide quarantine on movements of the species outside the county unless it is cut and kiln-dried first.

“This marks the first time the disease has been detected in the state, and by placing restrictions on a variety of plant material and wood products, we hope to keep the disease from spreading into other counties,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Something ...