By Katie Thoresen
After Thanksgiving, many people set their sights on the next big holiday of the season: Christmas.
The U.S. Forest Service encourages people to harvest their Christmas Tree responsibly.
The National Forest says this tradition helps maintain a healthy forest.
Christmas tree permits are a unique opportunity for people to help maintain healthy forest conditions by thinning densely populated stands of small diameter trees which are the perfect size for a Christmas tree.
National Forests
Christmas Tree Permits are available through Recreation.gov. It costs $5 per tree.
Fourth Graders with an Every Kid Outdoors pass are eligible for a free Christmas tree permit.
A couple guidelines to follow:
- Make sure the tree you plan to harvest is on Forest Service land and not neighboring private land.
- There’s no cutting in designated wilderness areas.
- You can’t harvest a tree from a plantation or one in an active timber sale area.
- You also can’t cut down a tree within 100 feet of a lake or pond.
There’s a full list of guidelines when you get your permit.
Click here to see more...