Class will help Christmas tree hunters

Where is it legal to cut a Christmas tree in the wild? Does it harm a wild forest to cut a Christmas tree? What tree species have the best smell?

These and any other questions will be answered Saturday during a crash course on hunting the wily Christmas tree. Colville National Forest wildlife biologist Chris Loggers guides the session, which culminates with a field trip into the national forest to find and cut a tree.

Roughly 2,000 Christmas tree permits are sold each year for both the Colville and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, according to information from the U.S. Forest Service. Although some people cut trees off public land because it’s cheap, most do it for the experience, Loggers said.

“It’s people looking for a little bit of adventure,” he said.

Wild Christmas trees also offer a wide variety of shapes, species and sizes. Some want the perfect, full cone. Others are looking for the stressed, scraggly Charlie Brown-style tree. “There are different desires,” Loggers said. “Not everybody wants a round, well-manicured tree.”

Loggers begins his brief class with an overview of tree species and how cutting a Christmas tree can actually help the forest, albeit on a very small scale. Many of the best trees are found in old clearcut areas, where thousands of trees compete for light and moisture. Cutting a tree or two leaves more elbow room for its neighbors, Loggers said.

“You’re doing no harm unless you leave an angled stob that someone ends up tripping over,” he said.

In the class, Loggers also discusses the merits of different tree species. He likes subalpine fir for its scent. Many first-time cutters are lured by the classic beauty of spruce. But needles from the tree are sharp and particularly difficult to remove from carpet, Loggers said. “If you have carpet you will only do it once.”

The class begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Beaver Lodge on Gillette Lake, which is north of Spokane along State Highway 20, about 25 miles east of Colville or 14 miles west of Ione. Cost is $5 for the required Christmas tree permit. Participants should bring warm clothes, lunch, a small saw to cut down a tree and rope to tie it to a vehicle. To register, call (509) 684-7000 or email otannenbaum@hotmail.com with “Xmas Tree” on the subject line.