The holiday season is fast approaching and National Forest Christmas tree permits are now available for a cost of $5 at all Lolo and Flathead National Forest offices with a limit of three permits per household.
On the Lolo, cash and personal check payments will be accepted at all office locations; however, credit cards are only accepted at Missoula and Ninemile Ranger Stations. Permits may also be purchased with cash or check at these three Missoula locations: Murdoch’s, 2801 W Broadway; Cabela’s, 3650 Brooks St and Bob Ward’s, 3015 Paxson Street.
Something new this year is the Missoula Ranger District and Lolo National Forest Supervisor’s Office will be taking permit orders over the phone from Nov. 14 -Dec. 13. Permits purchased over the phone will be mailed to the specified address within 1-3 business days. Please call 406-329-3894 for all phone orders. The Missoula Ranger District will also offer extended hours on Dec. 2-5 and will be open until 5:30 p.m. and will be open Saturday, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Christmas tree permits for the Flathead National Forest can be purchased online at https://openforest.fs.usda.gov/christmas-trees/forests/flathead#season-dates or at a Flathead National Forest office in Kalispell, Bigfork or Hungry Horse. Flathead National Forest is one of thirteen national forests participating in the online permit system through Open Forest.
“I encourage families to enjoy an outing on the forest,” said Flathead National Forest Supervisor Chip Weber. “Finding the perfect Christmas tree is an important tradition for many, and the forest is an ideal place to spend a day in the woods and make holiday memories.”
The Lolo and Flathead National Forests are pleased to support the Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) program and provide one FREE Christmas tree permit to every fourth grader! Fourth graders must present a valid EKO pass or paper voucher at their local Forest Service office (not vendors) to receive their free permit. To obtain the pass or paper voucher, fourth graders need to visit www.everykidoutdoors.gov.
“Harvesting a National Forest Christmas tree for the holiday season is a long-standing tradition on the Lolo National Forest,” said Kate Jerman, Lolo National Forest spokesperson. “We encourage fourth graders and parents to take advantage of the free Christmas tree permit program. We are also pleased to continue our partnerships with community vendors by offering additional and convenient permit purchase locations.”
The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree can be a fun, festive way to begin the holiday season. Please observe these regulations when cutting your Christmas tree:
• Do not cut trees from plantations or within developed recreation areas, campgrounds or the following areas: Blue Mountain or the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area.
• Please adhere to the local regulations prior to cutting your tree. It is your responsibility to know where you can and cannot harvest National Forest Christmas trees.
• Do not leave branches on the stump and trim the stump to no more than five inches above the soil.
• Do not cut the tops off of trees and do not cut down trees taller than 12 feet.
• Do not cut trees within 150 feet of riparian areas (creeks or streams) or within Wilderness Areas.
For additional information about the Lolo National Forest visit their webpage, https://www.fs.usda.gov/lolo/. For more information about Flathead National Forest Christmas tree permits, please call (406) 758-5204.
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