Still time to cut your Christmas tree!

From Custer Gallatin National Forest
                Christmas tree permits are still available at all seven Ranger District offices and numerous vendors across the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Forest Service offices in Bozeman, West Yellowstone, Livingston, Gardiner, Red Lodge, and Ashland, as well as Camp Crook, South Dakota, have permits available from 8am–4:30pm, Monday through Friday for $5 each, with a limit of three permits per household. Permits are sold in person. Cash, check, debit and credit cards are accepted.
Permits are also available at these local community businesses:
– Belgrade: Town & Country and Ace Hardware
– Bozeman: Owenhouse Ace Hardware (downtown and W Main locations), Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply
– Four Corners: Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply
– Big Sky: Big Sky Conoco and Ace Hardware
– West Yellowstone: Cenex Corner Store
– Livingston: Ace Hardware
– Gardiner: Gardiner Market
A permit can also be purchased for gathering personal-use boughs. Permits, maps, forest road access updates and tree species identification guides are available at each ranger district office.
“Cutting a Christmas tree is a great, family fun tradition for many,” said Marna Daley, Public Affairs Officer, Custer Gallatin National Forest. “Dress in layers for changing weather conditions, be prepared for emergencies, and enjoy spending time outdoors with friends and family.”
Those with a permit may cut a Christmas tree anywhere on the Custer Gallatin National Forest except in campgrounds, trailheads, designated wilderness areas, developed recreation sites, posted timber sale units, recently planted locations and administrative sites. Permits are also valid for any national forest in the Northern Region, which includes all of Montana, northern Idaho and portions of North and South Dakota.
General guidelines for cutting a tree include the following:
– No tree-cutting is allowed within 50 feet of any stream, lake, or wetland.
– Only trees 15 feet tall or less may be cut.
– Cut your tree as close to the ground as possible and below the lowest live limb. A remaining stump height of 6 inches or less is ideal.
– After cutting your tree, attach the purchased permit to a lower limb near the trunk for transporting home.
– “Topping” trees, or cutting the top off trees, deforms any future growth and leaves a visual eyesore. Take the entire tree or choose another one.
– Trees help protect watersheds, provide habitat for wildlife, and contribute to beautiful scenery. Keep these values in mind when selecting a tree.
For more information, please contact any Custer Gallatin National Forest office. For general forest information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/custergallatin.
Custer Gallatin National Forest is known as one of the most ecologically diverse landscapes in the region. The Forest stretches from the rugged high-country of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, the Gallatin Crest and vast portions of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the rolling landscapes and buttes of far southeastern Montana and northwestern South Dakota on the Ashland and Camp Crook districts.