How to Get a Public Land Christmas Tree Permit
By Jessi Paul — Admin at WildFed
Harvesting your own wild Christmas tree is a unique way to actively participate in the management of your local forest! This regulated activity takes place in national forests throughout the country — most often in areas where there are dense stands of young, small trees needing to be thinned to benefit the health of the greater forest ecosystem. It requires little more than a permit and an open afternoon, and it's a fun, memorable way to get your holiday tree!
Our family headed out this year to "forage" our tree in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest near our home in Colorado. Due to a recent wildfire that impacted the traditional cutting zone, our forest service opened up Christmas tree cutting to a much larger area, making it so we didn't have to travel very far from home to access. We went on the first weekend day available for our zone, and much like opening day of your favorite hunt, there were many people out to harvest their own wild conifer!
If you haven't done it before, getting a Christmas tree permit is quite simple. Go to this website, and type your state into the search bar to see what's available near you (this isn't an option in every state, unfortunately, but it's available to many!). Purchase and print your permit in advance, and of course, be sure to check the dates, the map showing where cutting is permitted, and the specific guidelines for your area. Our tree, for instance, was required to have a stump of 6 inches or less in diameter and be harvested at least 75 feet from any road, trail, or body of water. We utilized the Avenza app — an offline GPS map recommended by the National Forest Service — to ensure we were within the cutting boundary and not on private land.
After searching in a few different spots and sizing up our options, we narrowed in on a beautiful 6 ft tall Subalpine Fir — now fully decorated with ornaments and diffusing its heavenly scent throughout our house. Beyond simply buying a Christmas tree — we had an enjoyable experience as a family, made memories that we'll look back on fondly, and got to contribute firsthand to the health of our local forest!
