With Christmas only a month away, anyone searching for the perfect Christmas tree should start looking, and cutting it down, now.
The tradition of cutting your own tree is not only popular, it is also good for the environment and your pocketbook.
Christmas trees at Tagawa Gardens, one of Colorado’s largest garden centers, range from $40 to $300. A common 6- to 8-foot-tall tree averages $60 to $100.
With a $10-per-tree permit, cutting your own tree in a national forest is a comparative bargain, and your work helps reduce dense vegetation that creates unhealthy conditions, a threat that includes wildfires.
Trees available to take home are generally the smallest in the forests, with trunks less than 6 inches in diameter. Of course, that could be a 30-foot tree, according to park rangers.
“Cutting down the smaller ones, which catch on fire quickly and easily and then spread to bigger trees, helps in fuels reduction,” said Mary Tyler with the South Platte Ranger District. “This helps reduce fire danger and helps prevent wildfires.”
At the popular Buffalo Creek area of the Pike National Forest, there are a limited number of permits. The allotment of 7,000 always sells out.
The Buffalo Creek site is the closest to Denver, about an hour south of downtown. The first two weekends, Nov. 28-29 and Dec. 6-7, sold out, with about 1,000 tree permits left for Dec. 8-14.
Other cutting sites near the metro Denver area include Rampart Range Road in the Pike National Forest, Fraser north of Winter Park, and Red Feather Lakes northwest of Fort Collins.
At the Rampart Range Road cutting site, cutting is available through Dec. 17. Fraser/ Winter Park is open through Jan. 6, and Red Feather Lakes is open Dec. 6-14.
Unlike Buffalo Creek, those sites do not limit tree permits; however, all sites have a limit of five tree permits per person.
The sites are open from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Only handsaws are permitted, and pets should be left at home. Tire chains or 4-wheel-drive vehicles are required.
Cutting or removing trees from a national forest without a permit is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months in jail.
Sally S. Ho: 303-954-1638 or sho@denverpost.com
Tips for tree cutting
•Dress for winter weather.
•Fill your gas tank and bring tire chains.
•Check road conditions on the Colorado Department of Transportation website or call ranger district offices.
•Bring food, extra water, warm drinks, a shovel, a blanket and a first-aid kit.
•Don’t trespass on private property.
•Park out of the way of traffic.
•Tree trunk size must be 6 inches or less in diameter. Some local exceptions might apply.
•Do not cut trees marked with blue paint.
•Cut the tree 6 inches or less from the ground and take the whole tree. “Topping” trees is not permitted.
•Cut a tree close to other trees to help thin the forest.
•Use handsaws only. Chain saws are prohibited.
•Also prohibited: snowmobiles, all-terrain or other off-road vehicles.
•Pack out your trash.
•Bring a rope and tarp to pack your tree in or on your vehicle for the trip home.
•Permits must be visible on the tree for easy checkout.
More tips. www.fs.fed.us/r2
