Orange City Council's Environmental Sustainability Policy chair David Mallard said trees in council reserves should not be cut down for free firewood.

"People may think it's not doing any harm because it was already a dead tree but the dead trees are actually an important part of the ecosystem as well," Cr Mallard said.

"It's not just about habitat for birds but for insects, lizards as well," he said

Cr Mallard made the statement after Orange City Council crews discovered the freshly cut stump of a dead tree at Hinton Park near Gosling Creek Reserve.

He reminded people Hinton Reserve is community open space, council-owned land like Cook Park or Robertson Park. People can go there and walk around, but they can't fell trees, dead or alive.

Residents are not permitted to gather firewood in any of council's reserves as the trees are vital to the biodiversity of the area, especially near Gosling Creek where work had been done to encourage biodiversity, including installing nesting boxes and the like.

Cr Mallard he said he understood the cost of living was starting to hurt some family budgets.

"Obviously heating costs are an issue for everybody at the moment and people might have thought it was a harmless way to deal with that but its really important to try and source sustainably grown firewood," he said.

Cr Mallard added council had tried to support this with its 'Woodbank' with $10,000 allocated yearly however those funds are now exhausted by the community.

"We do what we can to support it, I absolutely think and understand social security payments aren't high enough and they need to be increased," Cr Mallard said.

"And the minimum wage could go up as well with inflation going as it is and we need other levels of government to provide support for people who are struggling.

"But please don't do this."

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has also warned residents across the Central West that it is illegal to collect firewood in national parks, state conservation areas and nature reserves

National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Castlereagh Area Manager John Whittall backed up Cr Mallard's statement that firewood collection removes important habitat.

"Illegally cutting down dead trees and removing this fallen timber for firewood destroys critical habitat that these animals depend on for survival," he said.

NPWS uses surveillance cameras in parks to detect illegal activities, including firewood collection. On-the-spot-fines apply, and larger fines can be handed out by the courts.

Firewood can be collected with a permit from some state forests.

To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.