#06–346 December 25, 2006

Christmas trees can help fish, wildlife after the holidays

Instead of letting your Christmas tree take up space in a landfill this year, state natural resources officials suggest sinking it, beaching it, mulching it or piling it up for wildlife.

In rural areas, discarded Christmas trees can be put to good use as erosion control or as brush piles to provide resting and escape cover for small animals. In addition to benefiting small game such as quail and rabbits, brush piles constructed of Christmas trees can help birds such as sparrows, towhees and wrens.

“We’re getting to the time of year when the leaves are off, and evergreen cover is a pretty important part of a total wildlife management plan,” said Buddy Baker, wildlife biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Even though the needles of old Christmas trees will brown and fall off in two or three months, if you get enough trees piled up they will make pretty good cover.”

Brush piles are usually mound or teepee shaped, Baker said, with the largest material forming the base and layers of small limbs and branches added as filler. The base should consist of sturdy trunks or limbs to allow adequate escape entrances at ground level.

Fisheries biologists with the DNR Freshwater Fisheries Section use discarded Christmas trees to maintain many fish attractor sites, which are clearly marked by buoys, at all major reservoirs in South Carolina. Many sites are being converted to permanent PVC units that do not require yearly maintenance; however, the majority of fish attractors still require an occasional addition of brush and Christmas trees that provide an excellent source of material.

Once on the lake bottom, Christmas trees and other suitable materials provide a surface where aquatic insects live and grow. These insects in turn attract small fish that are fed upon by larger fish. Read about the effort involved out at Lake Murray back in March of 2006.

To learn where to deliver your tree so it can be used as a fish attractor, contact the nearest DNR hub office:  in Florence at (843) 661-4766, Clemson (864) 654-1671, Charleston (843) 953-9300, or the state office in Columbia at (803) 734-3886. Please do not toss discarded trees on state fish attraction areas. Deliver the tree to designated offices, and state natural resources personnel will replenish sites as needed.

Another alternative is grinding up your tree to use as mulch. Local Keep America Beautiful committees and some cities and counties offer tree grinding at no charge after the holidays, often called “Grinding of the Greens.” Those who choose to take their mulch home can use it for flowerbeds, gardens or around trees and shrubs. To learn about a Grinding of the Greens program in your county, contact your local Clemson Extension office for locations and phone numbers.

Perhaps the best kind of recycling is to buy a live tree and replant it, and then the tree can provide evergreen cover for wildlife year-round. Consumers should keep in mind, however, that many kinds of popular Christmas trees will not survive the hot and humid South Carolina summers.

Among the species that will likely live and prosper here are: Virginia pine, Scotch pine, sand pine, spruce pine, Eastern red cedar, white cedar, Leyland cypress and white pine, which does best in the mountains and upper Piedmont. Two varieties of Arizona smooth cypress developed in South Carolina, Clemson Greenspire and Carolina Sapphire, will also grow well in our climate. Tree species that may not survive here, except in our foothills, include hemlock, Colorado blue spruce, Douglas fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir.