Cut Your Own Christmas Tree on Public Land
By: Konrad Hafen
Tags: Public Lands, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Trees, Outdoors

Cut Your Own Christmas Tree on Public Land

Photo by Joshua Hanson on Unsplash

Cutting a Christmas tree on Black Friday has been a tradition in my family for many years. In fact, I can only remember one year when I was young that we went to a tree lot instead of a national forest. It’s very easy to obtain a Christmas tree permit and cut your own tree. All you need is a Christmas tree permit, a saw, and a way to transport your tree.

1. Get a Christmas Tree Permit

Starting in 2020, most Christmas tree permits for National Forests are obtainable from recreation.gov. Permits can also be obtained for BLM land. Procedures for purchasing BLM Christmas tree permits vary based on the BLM field office. Some regions have online purchasing, others do not. Visit the BLM website for more information. If you’re not sure which management agency is to purchase your permit from, look to see which agency manages the most land near you.

To get your permit on recreation.gov, follow the instructions below.

Find your forest

To start, go to recreation.gov and log into your account. If you don’t have an account you will need to create one for free. On the homepage, start typing the name of a national forest near year you. Automatic suggestions should appear as you type. One of the suggestions should be for a Christmas tree permit. If you don’t see the proper suggestion type the name of the national forest and add ‘Christmas tree permit’. For example, if I were trying to get a permit in the Custer Gallatin National Forest I would type: ‘Custer Gallatin National Forest Christmas Tree Permit’. If you’re not sure which national forests are close to you check the map at recreation.gov for more information.

The next page you land on will give you specific information for the forest you selected. This is a good reference page if you have questions. Contact information for local ranger offices will be presented at the bottom of the page. You can visit or call an office if you have additional questions.

Purchase a permit

Now, click the ‘Purchase Tree Permit’ button. The page you land on will give you specific information about permits in a particular location. Information will include where you can harvest a tree, how many trees you can harvest, the cost of each permit, and the tree species you can harvest. Permit cost will vary by national forest. This year, my permit cost a whopping $0.00, but I did have to pay a $2.50 reservation fee. After you have selected the required options pay for your permit(s) and print your permit(s) when directed. Make sure you take your permit(s) with you when you go to cut your tree.

You can find more information on the recreation.gov help page.

2. Go to a Legal Tree Cutting Area

Legal Christmas tree cutting areas for your national forest will be described on the webpage where you select your tree permit information. You may want to print that page so you don’t forget. Legal cutting areas will vary depending on the national forest. Many forests allow you to cut trees in any location. Other forests have areas where tree cutting is prohibited. Some forests have designated tree harvest areas.

If you are unsure of where you can legally harvest a Christmas tree, contact a Forest Service office or Ranger Station. Contact information for these locations can be found on the general tree permit information page, mentioned above.

3. Find the Right Christmas Tree and Cut it Down

Make sure it’s legal

Some forests prohibit the harvest of certain tree species. For example, in the western United States harvest of 5-needle pine tree species is not allowed in most forests. These include trees like the White Bark Pine and Limber Pine. If you need help with tree identification contact a local Forest Service location. Don’t worry, it’s usually quite easy to distinguish harvestable tree species.

Many different species make good Christmas trees. You will have different options depending on your region. I grew up in the desert southwest where we were closest to pinon-juniper forests. As a result, we always had a pinon pine for our Christmas tree. For the last couple of years, we’ve had spruce trees. Spruce probably provide the most stereotypical tree. They are quite full and taper nicely to the top. Spruce trees have stiff, sharp needles so decorating the tree can be uncomfortable. This year we harvested a young fir. It’s not quite as full as spruce trees we’ve had in the past, but it is approximately the same shape and has much softer needles.

In the end, it doesn’t matter which tree you choose (as long as it’s legal). Pick one that you like or one that your kids like.

Check the height

Make sure the tree is the correct height. Keep in mind that the tree will look much smaller in the forest than it will in your home. It’s always a good idea to take a tape measure. Don’t assume that you can cut the bottom off to make it fit. Sometimes the branches at the bottom curve up, and cutting off six inches of stump thins out the tree three feet higher. Once you’re sure the tree is the right size, cut it down. It probably won’t take a big saw to cut down your tree. Most trees less than 12 feet tall will be less than 4 inches in diameter. I use a cheap folding saw. You can pick one up at a hardware or outdoor store for $10–15. Cut the tree as close to the ground as possible. Most forests require that the stump you leave is less than 6 inches tall.

Some Final Thoughts

Most folks find their trees close to a road. As a result, good trees next to a road can be hard to find. My family had a lot of fun going for short hikes away from the road looking for the perfect tree. Sometimes we had to drag the tree a quarter or a half mile back the truck. With three teenage boys, it wasn’t too hard to do. If you drag a tree stump-first there’s very little damage to the tree. If your tree gets muddy or dusty during transportation you can wash it off with a hose and let it dry before setting it up. One year we had two Christmas trees hanging upside down in our big mulberry tree for a couple of days!

Best of luck harvesting your Christmas tree. It will create memories that last for years!