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Trim trees free of fees

Courtesy of Leah Eskelin

Depending on who you ask, holiday decorations are fair game the moment the turkey leaves the table.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge certainly seems to think so. It opened to Christmas tree harvesting Thanksgiving Day.

“It’s probably good to note that it’s not just any tree, anywhere," said Leah Eskelin, a lead project ranger and visitors center manager for the refuge.

Eskelin said each household can take one tree, not exceeding 20 feet, from refuge lands. To spread out the harvest, staff ask that people move 150 feet away from roadways, campgrounds, trails and bodies of water.

No harvesting is allowed on Ski Hill Road and harvesters must use hand tools.

“But don’t be surprised if you think it’s going to be really hard," Eskelin said. "I let my kiddos who are 8 and 12 participate in the sawing of the trees. We’re choosing trees that are small enough that their trunks are easy to cut through with a handsaw. It’s doable.”

Christmas tree cutting is also allowed in the Chugach National Forest, minus Portage Valley and Turnagain Pass, and in state-managed forests. Tim Mowry, from the Alaska Division of Forestry, said people need to make sure they’re cutting on state land and not on private property or in state parks.

“The trees that people are going to be finding in Alaska, if you’re coming from the Lower 48, they’re not your typical big, full, bushy Christmas tree," he said. "They’re more of a Charlie Brown type of tree, if you will. They’re just not as full and they’re typically white spruce or black spruce.”

Mowry recommended cutting trees close to the ground to clear the way for recreators.

Eskelin had three tips for Christmas tree harvesting.

“The first is I pay attention to where the tree is going to go in our home, first," she said.

She suggested using a family member as a measuring stick. The scale in the forest can feel different from that of a living room, so make sure you size up both the space and the tree. That’s so you don’t end up just using part of a larger tree.

“So when we go out and find our Christmas tree, we’re not harvesting a 30-foot tree that’s home to a bunch of different animals and only cutting the top off," she said. "We’re choosing a tree that might be a younger tree. This kind of goes into my next tip, which is harvesting a younger tree that’s growing out away from other trees, gives me better chances of having more of a fuller tree that hasn’t been growing up against other trunks and it will have a bare side or something like that.”

Once you’ve got your tree, Eskelin recommended taking some time to acclimate it to its new home. Stick it in a bucket in your garage so it can thaw. That way, it can absorb water better once it’s inside.

Plus, it’s icy out in the woods. Better your tree drip dry into a bucket than onto your living room carpet.

Sabine Poux is a producer and reporter for the Brave Little State podcast of Vermont Public. She was formerly news director and evening news host at KDLL in Kenai.

Originally from New York, Sabine has lived and reported in Argentina and Vermont and Kenai.
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