Cut Your Own Christmas Tree in a National Forest for a $5 Permit: Mt. Hood Allows Five Trees per Household, and Fourth Graders Get Theirs Free
The U.S. Forest Service's Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon has posted the rules for this year's Christmas tree season, which reopens in November: a permit costs $5 per tree and lets a household cut its own tree on national forest land. Buying online through Recreation.gov adds a $2.50 service fee; permits bought from a vendor or a district office carry no additional fee.
The cutting rules are specific. The annual limit is five trees per household. A tree can be no more than 15 feet tall and must be growing within 12 feet of another tree, so cutters take a tree out of a crowded stand rather than a lone specimen. The whole tree must be cut down, leaving a stump no more than 6 inches from the ground. Cutting is prohibited within 100 feet of any highway, in wilderness and recreation areas and along trails, and inside active timber sales.
Fourth graders get an extra benefit: with an Every Kid Outdoors pass or voucher in hand, a fourth grader can receive a free Christmas tree permit, at the Sandy or Zigzag district offices or online at Recreation.gov, where the $2.50 service fee still applies. Free fourth-grade permits are not available from local vendors, and the fourth grader must be present to receive one at a district office.
The Forest Service frames the tradition as a way to take an active part in managing public lands: removing trees from dense stands under the permit rules helps the forest stay healthy. Before heading out, permit holders should read the permit guidelines and forest maps that come with the permit, and bring the tools, traction and warm clothing a November trip into the forest requires. (Source: U.S. Forest Service)
Source: U.S. Forest Service
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 摄影，CC BY-SA 4.0：雪林中砍伐圣诞树（示意：国家森林自砍圣诞树）
