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.
State lands
People can also harvest Christmas trees in the Brule River, Flambeau River, Governor Earl Peshtigo River, Governor Knowles and Northern Highland-American Legion state forests. Details are available on the DNR website.
Holiday tree cutting is not offered at other DNR properties.
The price may vary slightly from property to property, but the average cost is $5 per tree.
Before heading into the woods with a saw and permit in hand, the DNR reminds visitors that harvesting is prohibited within 100 feet or visual distance of roads, trails and water, and there is no harvesting from campgrounds or day-use areas. Trees must be cut at ground level with a maximum height of 30 feet, and the trees taken from state forests cannot be resold.
