The Personal Use Forest Products Permit (PUFPP), previously known as the TM66 or Forest Product Tag, allows Albertans to harvest trees from designated Crown land areas for free.
The permit is valid for 30 days and allows the holder to harvest up to:
three Christmas trees
five cubic metres (about 3 full-sized half-ton truck boxes) of roundwood for building logs, fence post, poles and rails
five cubic metres of firewood
The permit can also be used to transplant up to 20 trees.
“This is the most popular time of year for the permit,” said Wendy Machan, information specialist with Alberta Forestry and Parks.
Last year, nearly 18,000 Alberta families harvested Christmas trees with the permit. Getting a Personal Use Forest Products Permit before harvesting Crown trees is the law. The permit is only valid for personal use tree cutting, not for reselling trees.
“You can get a permit online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Machan. “This permit is an important tool for helping us keep track of the harvesting activities out in our forests. It also outlines the rules surrounding harvesting trees from Crown land and provides tips to the permit holder on how to harvest trees safely.”
Personal use tree cutting is only allowed in approved areas and is considered when Alberta authorizes the annual allowable cut for sustainable management of Alberta’s Crown forests. If you find yourself in an area with hundreds of small, regenerating trees, it is important to recognize and understand that they are not for personal harvesting. These areas are cutblocks being replanted by forest companies.
Harvesting Christmas trees in Alberta’s provincial parks and recreation areas is strictly prohibited and carries a large fine. The only exception is designated areas in Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park where a valid separate permit from Alberta Parks is required instead of a PUFPP.
Prior to harvesting trees with your PUFPP, Albertans must ensure they are in the proper harvest area by consulting maps available online.
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