Balsam Boughs

An Important Minnesota

Resource
Minnesota is a leader in the production of holiday wreaths and greenery,

and one of the reasons for its lead is

the State’s large resource of balsam fir.

Boughs harvested from balsam are

used in almost all of the wreaths manufactured. This brochure answers several questions about harvesting balsam fir to help bough harvesters get ready for the coming

season.

Where Do You Go To Find Balsam Fir??

Balsam fir is one of the most common tree species in

Minnesota. This species is found on more than 30 percent

(4.6 million acres) of the State’s 15.3 million acres of forest

land outside of parks and wilderness areas. 

Of the 4.6 million acres where balsam fir is found, 17 percent (770,000 acres) contain at least 500 lbs. per acre of

harvestable boughs while 5 percent (280,000 acres) contain

at least 1,000 lbs. per acre of harvestable boughs. 

The map below shows where harvesters can expect to find

high levels of balsam boughs; however, the resource varies

greatly within areas. Even within the dark green areas, some

stands have very high levels of boughs and others few or no

boughs. Yellow areas are parks and wilderness areas where

harvesting boughs is prohibited. 

How Much Balsam Fir Bough Material Is

Potentially Available?

More than 675,000 tons (of boughs that could be harvested

within the guidelines on forest land outside of parks and
wilderness areas). Current harvesting is estimated to be

4,320 tons per year, somewhat less than 1 percent of the

total resource. Although this rate of harvesting includes only

a small fraction of the balsam resource, it is impacting that

resource, especially where access is easiest—close to population centers and on forest land near roads. 

Where Do People Harvest Boughs?

St. Louis, Aitkin, Itasca, and Cass Counties support the

largest amount of harvesting of balsam boughs; however,

they are not necessarily the top counties in terms of the

available resource. Eight other counties (Lake, Koochiching,

Cook, Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, Clearwater, Carlton, and

Pine) also contain many balsam boughs. In total, these 12

counties contain over 97 percent of the balsam bough

resource in the State. 

The following table shows the distribution of the nonreserved forest area with balsam (4.6 million acres) among the

major landowners. Other public includes counties not listed,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers. Private includes tribal, forest industry, and miscellaneous small landowners.
Landowners and percentage of balsam fir they hold:

Owner Percent

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 27

Superior National Forest 16

St. Louis County 6

Koochiching County 2

Itasca County 1

Lake County 1

Aitkin, Cass, Beltrami, Becker < 1

Other public 2

Private 37

State law requires a permit, written consent, or bill of sale to

be carried whenever cutting, removing, or transporting

boughs whether the land is publicly or privately owned.

How Do I Get A Permit?

Public Land

Approximately 60 percent of the

balsam bough resource in Minnesota

is on lands managed by 11 public

agencies that issue permits to harvesters depending on the availability

of the resource in particular areas.

Permits for the most desirable areas

for harvesting with easy access and a

high concentration of balsam may

be difficult to obtain where many

people are harvesting. It’s wise to

look for a harvesting area before the season begins.

Owner Office location Phone

Superior National Grand Marais (218) 387-1750

Forest Ely (218) 365-7600

Cook (218) 666-0020

Aurora (218) 229-8800

Tofte (218) 663-7280

Chippewa National Blackduck (218) 835-4291 

Forest Cass Lake (218) 335-8600

Deer River (218) 246-2123 

Marcell (218) 832-3161

Walker (218) 547-1044

Minnesota Department Office location and contact information 

of Natural Resources for DNR Forestry field offices can be 

obtained from the DNR Web site at: 

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/index/html, 

or by calling DNR information at: (888) 

MINN-DNR
Counties:

St. Louis Pike Lake (218) 625-3729

Koochiching International Falls (218) 283-1128

Itasca Grand Rapids (218) 327-2855

Lake Two Harbors (218) 834-8340

Aitkin Aitkin (218) 927-7364

Cass Backus (218) 947-3338

Beltrami Bemidji (218) 333-4210

Becker Detroit Lakes (218) 847-0099

Clearwater Bagley (218) 694-6227

Carlton Carlton (218) 384-9179

Private Land

Harvesting on privately owned land requires written permission or a bill of sale from the landowner. Tribal lands are

regulated by each band, and permits are issued primarily to

band members. 

In addition to the harvesting guidelines (height and diameter restrictions) most managers provide harvesters with

either a specific area to harvest in (a section or other defined

area) in which they are to harvest. Also, harvesting is typically not allowed within 50 feet of roads, lakes, rivers, and

trails (skiing, hiking, snowmobile, ...) and within other designated areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas, or boat

landings.

Harvesting Balsam Boughs Is Not An Easy Job

Much of the balsam bough resource in Minnesota is difficult

to harvest because it is hard to get to. Only 40 percent of

the total area with balsam fir is within 1,000 feet of a maintained road, and only 30 percent of the prime areas for harvesting (one ton of boughs or more per acre) are within

1,000 feet of a maintained road. Harvesting balsam boughs

in some areas requires travel over unmaintained roads and

logging roads. And harvesting balsam boughs requires not

only cutting boughs, but also carrying bundles of boughs

through the woods . It can be physically demanding work

and is not for everyone.
USDA United States 

Department of Agriculture I 

Forest Service @ 

Research Station 

North Central 

Mark Hansen and Keith Jacobson 

Miscellaneous Publication xx)5