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Twelve days of forest Christmas

Image shows the hand of Santa Claus hanging a white globe ornament with the Forest Service shield on to a Christmas tree.
Let’s celebrate the holiday season with a forest-themed version of that Christmas classic, the 12 Days of Christmas. Here are the lyrics so you can sing along!On the 12th day of Christmas, the forest gave to me:  12 rangers ranging  11 elk herds grazing  10 goats a leaping  9 flowers blooming  8 mules a packing  7 swans a swimming  6 geese a laying  5 oak…
#Christmas, #ChristmasTrees, #Holidays

Finding the $5 Christmas tree

Image shows two men carrying a freshly cut Christmas tree through a forest clearing while a dog runs ahead of them.
Many families across the United States celebrate the holiday season with a Christmas tree. Although farmed and fake Christmas trees are full, symmetrical, and simple to get, they can be pricey. And rightly so – a lot of labor and materials go into producing those perfect boughs.But if you live near a national forest, there is another option – the $5 Christmas tree.These trees grow wild on…
#ChristmasTrees, #ChristmasTreePermits, #Christmas, #Holidays

Around the Forest Service: December 2024

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—As we reflect on the year's accomplishments, we can be proud knowing we made a difference for people and communities. This year marked 60 years of providing the People's Tree, and Spruce Wayne, a 60-foot Sitka spruce, traveled an enormous distance to land on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The Capitol Christmas tree will be lit nightly through Jan. 1, 2025. This year saw…
#Video, #CapitolChristmasTree, #HurricaneRecovery, #ForestLegacyProgram, #SmokeyBear, #Christmas, #ChristmasTrees

Spread Christmas cheer, not forest pests

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These Christmas trees found new purpose after the holidays as fish habitat in Lake Vesuvius, Ironton Ranger District, Wayne National Forest. USDA Forest Service photo. WISCONSIN—‘Tis the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly. We have spent time planning details for decorating our…
#Holidays, #Christmas, #Recycling, #ChristmasTrees, #Trees

Finding the people’s tree

Jim Kaufmann, Director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum at the Architect of the Capitol, reviews a potential tree candidate.
Out of thousands of trees, only one gets selected and named the People’s Tree each year.The Monongahela National Forest, however, has a special history with the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, as it was the first national forest selected to provide the People’s Tree in 1970. Six years later, the Monongahela was asked again to provide the nation’s Bicentennial People’s Tree in 1976.Forty-seven years…
#CapitolChristmasTree, #Christmas, #PeoplesTree, #WestVirginia, #ChristmasTrees

Yuletide splash

Three people in an aluminum boat placing used Christmas trees weighted down with cinderblocks, in Lake Vesuvius.
Like many households around the world, some National Forests have their own post-holiday traditions, such as recycling Christmas trees on the Wayne National Forest in Ohio. (USDA Forest Service photo by Ashley Kuflewski) Harvesting and decorating a live Christmas tree is a holiday tradition in millions of U.S. households. Equally important and beautiful traditions surround taking down the…
#AquaticEcosystems, #ChristmasTrees, #Recycling, #Fisheries, #Fishing, #Lakes, #Rivers