Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Although there is a plethora of artificial Christmas trees on the market, there are still families that prefer using real trees during the holiday season. Once the season is over, however, it is time for disposal. While most real Christmas trees end up in the landfill, the U.S. Forest Service offers an alternative that will give the trees a new life in the forest.
The Marlinton Ranger District office is collecting the trees to use as fish habitats in nearby lakes. Fisheries biologist Kyle Tasker explained that the Forest Service has collected Christmas trees for years to use as habitats, but this is the first time the Marlinton office has been a part of the collection process.
“It has been done for several years in the past by the West Virginia DNR,” He said. “They used to collect them in Charleston and shipped them around to lakes all across the state that are state managed and even some on the forest to use as habitat.”
The recycling program is a nationwide occurrence and while it is not the only source of wood for habitats, it is a unique way for the community to contribute to the welfare of local streams and lakes.
“We use wood to create habitats all the time – making structures that fish, such as trout, are going to be using on the national forest streams,” Tasker said. “This just gives us another tool in the tool belt or opportunity to use different trees in different circumstances.”
Once the trees are collected, they are tied together with a twine or string that will decompose. The bundle of trees will then be weighed down and placed in the lakes in areas where habitats are needed.
“As Christmas trees are green, they’re kind of buoyant,” Tasker said. “You have to weigh them down to get them to sink, but then they’ll get water logged and provide that good fish habitat that we’re looking for. The main thing that these trees provide is a lot of diverse cover for small fish and even bigger fish that are looking to prey on small fish. It’s an attractant in the water when there’s not a lot of habitat or structure for fish to be around.”
The tree structures become shelter, home and ecosystems for fish, invertebrates, bugs and more that inhabit the lakes.
Tasker said the forest service will coordinate with the DNR to use its boat to spread the habitats around to the targeted lakes.
“Our primary objective is to try to increase habitat in Lake Sherwood, in Greenbrier County between Marlinton and White Sulphur Springs,” he said. “If we get enough trees – which our goal is to get roughly fifty trees in this initial year – we can use those to treat Summit Lake, which is between Richwood and Marlinton.”
Tasker hopes those who have live Christmas trees will consider giving them back to the forest through this program.
“The forest does offer Christmas tree permits that folks can buy, so if you buy the Christmas tree permit and harvest a tree on the forest, we would love to get that tree back after you’re done with it, and use it on the forest again,” he said.
While the trees don’t last forever, they do provide a habitat for several years before completely decomposing and becoming part of the detritus at the bottom of the lake.
“They’ll last roughly five years in the water before they start to decompose,” Tasker said. “It’s really just a good source of that natural component of woody material, and it provides a lot of sources – not only providing habitat for fish – but food for some of the invertebrates and bugs that are in the lake, which support the whole food cycle in the lake, as well.”
Habitats are just the latest upgrades the forest service has made to Lake Sherwood. Tasker explained that the forest service received funding through the Great American Outdoors Act to improve facilities and campgrounds at the lake.
“A lot of people come here to swim and fish, so we’re doing this,” he said. “We’ve also dropped some trees from the shore for shoreline habitat, so we’re doing work all around the lake to kind of improve the fisheries as well as some of the facilities and campgrounds. It’s a big investment that we’ve been putting a lot into lately and, hopefully, people will be able to get out and enjoy it this spring and summer.”
