On the Fly: Christmas tree hunting is sport for the whole family

It hardly seems possible, but the holiday season is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to begin decorating inside and outside our homes.

So, the press release that moved across my desk this week from the U.S. Forest Service was right on the mark.

The USFS wants to help us find the perfect Christmas tree.

If arborists go onto national forest lands to harvest a tree, a Personal-Use Christmas Tree Permit is required, they tell us.

Permits sell for $5 each and are available at all Kootenai National Forest offices.  Only cash or checks can be accepted for purchase of the permits.  

The permit limit per household is three trees, which is a great deal — three trees for 15 bucks.

Shucks, I remember one year, I paid plenty more for a nice, seven-foot tree that was nowhere near as nice as the ones I see every day in Lincoln County.

Persons should stop in or call the nearest Forest Service office for information regarding harvesting their Christmas tree.  

The USFS office is open Monday through Friday, the Supervisor’s Office and Ranger Stations also have maps showing road access and identifying National Forest lands.

People going into the forest for Christmas trees are asked to respect the following guidelines:

• Avoid cutting trees along major routes, in plantations, campgrounds or other well-used areas.

• Respect private property; consult Forest Service maps to be sure you’re on National Forest land.

• Do not cut in areas posted as closed to Christmas tree cutting or in contract areas.

• Cut the size of tree desired.  Do not select a large tree intending to take only the top.

• Cut the stump as low as possible, no higher than eight  inches above the ground.

• Clear all limbs, trimmings and debris from roadways and ditches.

• Think “safety” with axe or power saw.

• One permit is required for each tree and these permits are available for $5 at all Forest Service offices.

The release continues, asking persons to drive carefully on forest roads.  

Those roads, they warn, may be muddy, icy or snowpacked in places the road may be shared with logging traffic.  

Take along a shovel and emergency winter survival gear when heading out for Christmas trees.

Once the tree is taken home, place the base in water and store in a cool place.  

USFS biologists urge arborists to take extra precautions when setting up the tree by checking tree lights and wiring for worn spots and cracks.

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Finally, I got a chance to get out and to do a little deer hunting last weekend. It was TERRIFIC just to get out!

Left the house about 5:30 a.m. and headed up into the high country out by Libby Dam. 

It was 24 degrees in Libby when I left. By the time I got up to 4,724 feet, it was a blustery nine degrees and there was just about a full foot of snow.

At that elevation, there was fresh snow, which made tracking quite easy.

While I saw just a few deer tracks, there was an abundance of rabbit tracks.

I parked the truck and walked probably about two miles, and was I ever glad I brought along a facemask.

I must’ve spent about three hours overlooking a nice, south-facing meadow, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Saw a total of six does, two of which were from the warmth of my truck heading back out on to Highway 37.

Still, it was beautiful. 

It’s not always about acquiring game. Sometimes, a good walk in a winter wonderland is enough!

(Alan Lewis Gerstenecker is editor of The Western News. His column appears weekly.)