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Cutting your own Christmas tree

Ellis Juhlin and Matt Webster stand with their dog Dodger and their freshly cut tree
Ellis Juhlin
Ellis Juhlin and Matt Webster stand with their dog Dodger and their freshly cut tree

It’s a bluebird day up in Lolo Pass. With snow crunching under our feet, my mom, my husband Matt and I carefully climb a hillside in search of a Christmas tree. Our ragtag pack of pups - bound alongside us.

Once we are sufficiently far away from the road, and over 150 feet from water, per the instructions on our Forest Service Permit, we scan for the perfect tree. 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s the right height for our house. And it’s covered in snow, so it’s a little thinner in the back but this can just be the corner.”

“But I like how open it is too, so we'll be able to hang ornaments and see them.”

“Is this the one?”

“I think this is the one!”

“Fantastic.”

We pick a spruce, which we’ll come to regret later as its sharp needles make stringing lights feel like petting a porcupine. But it smells just like Christmas and is short enough to sit in a stand atop a side table, away from the whipping tails of dogs.

A Christmas tree with twinkling lights and sparkling ornaments can brighten the short days of December. But cutting your own can also help with fire management.

Matt cuts it down with a hand saw while I keep the curious dogs a safe distance away.

In addition to making for a memorable afternoon, the Forest Service’s Christmas Tree Program has some ecological benefits too.

“It provides an opportunity for the public to go out and help out a little bit with forest management by increasing forest health, reducing that stand density,” said Wetzstein.

Kurt Wetzstein is a silviculturist with the Lolo National Forest. Stand density refers to the number of trees across an area. Historically, fire would reduce that density, wiping out smaller trees and leaving larger ones in place.

But years of fire suppression disrupted that natural process. Having people cut small to medium sized trees helps mimic it.

Our small tree is quick work to cut down.

“Timber.”

“Hey - If a tree falls in the forest, it’s very quiet!”

“Does anyone hear it? Not if there’s snow!”

Matt slings it over his shoulder as we hike back out to the car.

Matt Webster stands next to his soon to be cut Christmas tree with Dodger, Zayda and Finley
Ellis Juhlin
Matt Webster stands next to his soon to be cut Christmas tree with Dodger, Zayda and Finley

Ellis Juhlin is MTPR's Environmental Reporter. She covers wildlife, natural resources, climate change and agriculture stories. She worked at Utah Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio prior to joining MTPR, and in wildlife conservation before becoming a journalist. She has a Master's Degree in Ecology from Utah State University and is an average birder who wants you to keep your cat indoors. Her life is run by her three dogs, one of which is afraid of birds.

ellis.juhlin@mso.umt.edu
406-272-2568
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