Cutting a Christmas Tree in Southern Utah

In many places, private tree farms are the place to go if you want to select and cut your own Christmas tree. In southern Utah where I live, however, I can't really think of any cut-your-own Christmas tree farms. Instead, Christmas tree cutting is typically done on public land, specifically on one of the three southern Utah national forests-the Fishlake, the Dixie, or the Manti-La Sal. My family selects a tree from public land every year. This is how:

The three national forests in southern Utah cover approximately five million acres and stretch from St. George to Moab. Each of them offers opportunities for Christmas tree cutting. The trees are not free, however, and a $10 permit must be purchased before cutting your tree. (Trees taller than 10 feet cost $20.)

The Fishlake National Forest sells permits at all of its offices. The Forest Supervisor's office is located in Richfield, Utah; the Beaver Ranger District office is in Beaver, Utah; the Fillmore Ranger District office is in Fillmore, Utah; and the Fremont River Ranger District office is located in Loa, Utah. In addition, the Fishlake allows permits to be purchased from several other businesses in local communities. For example, Christmas tree permits are on sale at Don's Sinclair in Salina; at the Grass Valley Mercantile in Kosharem; and at the Taft Travel Plaza in Torrey. For a complete list, click here: www.fs.fed.us/r4/fishlake/news/2008/xmastrees.htm. In 2009, permits are scheduled to go on sale on November 17^th.

The Dixie National Forest sells permits from its offices in St. George, Utah; Cedar City, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; and Escalante, Utah. In addition, permits are for sale in Boulder, Utah at the Boulder Exchange; in Antimony, Utah at the Antimony Mercantile; and at Clarke's in Tropic, Utah. For a complete list of sale locations, click here: www.fs.fed.us/r4/dixie/passes/xmastree.shtml. The Diixie website also contains information about the kind of tree that should be cut (and not cut) on each Ranger District. (In my opinion, this is tricky. I mean, how many people can tell the difference between a White Fir and a Douglas Fir? Yet, on the Cedar City Ranger District, one of these is acceptable and the other is not. All I can say is, "Do your best.") For 2009, Dixie National Forest Christmas tree permits go on sale starting November 7^th.

The Manti-La Sal National Forest has offices in Ferron, Utah; Ephraim, Utah; Moab, Utah; Monticello, Utah; and Price, Utah. At the time of this writing, the Manti-La Sal did not offer any specific information about when or where to purchase Christmas tree permits for 2009. Contact your local Ranger District for more information. The Manti-La Sal's website can be accessed here: www.fs.fed.us/r4/mantilasal/