Christmas Tree Permits
‘Tis the season to find the perfect Christmas tree! If you’re looking to bring a little adventure to your holiday season, some areas of the national forest are open for hunting down your personal Christmas tree. Permits are required and some restrictions apply.
Permit Information
Forest Product | Details |
|---|---|
| Christmas Trees |
|
How to Obtain a Permit
Christmas trees may be harvested for personal use in certain designated areas of the national forest. Christmas tree permits are available through Recreation.gov beginning in late October or early November. If purchasing a permit on Recreation.gov, indicate the national forest from which you plan to harvest. In addition to purchasing online, Christmas tree permits can be bought through a district office. Permits must be purchased from the forest where the tree will be cut.
Current fourth-grader students are eligible for one free tree with an Every Kid Outdoors Pass. An Every Kid Outdoors Pass also provides students and their families free admittance into many Forest Service recreation sites, national parks, and other federal public lands.
Where to Harvest
- Douglas-fir is the primary species found on the Siuslaw, and right-sized trees can be challenging to find. Individuals wanting a fir species or smaller trees may want to consider purchasing a permit from a national forest with lands at higher elevations, such as the Willamette or Deschutes National Forests in the Oregon Cascades.
- Maps below are high resolution and georeferenced of where Christmas tree permit holders can harvest on the Siuslaw National Forest. Zoom in for details.
- Christmas tree cutting is prohibited in campgrounds, developed recreation sites, and lands within 200 feet of these areas, as well as within 100 feet on each side of designated hiking trails. All forest product harvesting is prohibited in Botanical Areas, Research Natural Areas (including Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area), wilderness areas, scenic areas, and land other than designated on the map received with your permit.
Map of Harvest Areas on Hebo Ranger District
Map of Harvest on Central Coast Ranger District
How to Protect the Forest While Harvesting
- Harvest products in a caring and ecologically sound way by scattering debris away from roads, culverts, and ditches and leaving your Christmas tree cutting area clean.
- Select a tree with a trunk six inches or less in diameter and prepare to cut the tree no more than six inches above ground level.
- Never cut a tall tree just for the top.
- Attach your tree tag to harvested tree before placing in vehicle.
- Pack garbage and food scraps out with you.
- For more information on safety and best practices, visit the Tree Cutting Know Before You Go page for more details.
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions Christmas Tree Printable Flyer (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions
To purchase a permit, call or visit a ranger station 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. If a permit requires a supplemental request form (as indicated on the website), forms can be brought or emailed to a ranger station. Please call ahead to check for the availability of the product you wish to harvest. Harvest may be restricted by quantity, method, location, season, or time of year. Make sure to have a valid photo identification, your current address, and information on the vehicle that will be used to harvest the product (license number, year, make, model, color).
- Siuslaw Headquarters:
(541)750-7000
3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331 - Hebo District Office:
(503)392-5100
31525 Hwy 22 Hebo, OR 97122 - Central Coast Ranger District:
(541)563-8400
1130 SW Forestry Lane, Waldport, OR 97394 - Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area:
(541)271-6000
855 Highway 101, Reedsport, Oregon 97467
All special forest product permits, other than firewood and matsutake mushrooms, are open year-round and have no deadline application. In general, firewood is available for harvest October through February, depending on availability.
Permittee must be 18 years of age or older and have valid photo identification (state drivers license, state identification, passport, greencard, etc.) to be eligible for a special forest product permit.
Permittees can harvest special forest products on Siuslaw National Forest lands ONLY. Maps are provided with permits when issued, and people can also view digital high resolution and georeferenced maps for the Hebo Ranger District and the Central Coast Ranger District. If a special forest product can only be harvested in designated areas, 2 specific maps will be provided with the permit when the permit is issued.
Harvesting is PROHIBITED in Botanical Areas, Research Natural Areas, wilderness areas, scenic areas, and land other than designated on the map received with your permit. Additionally, some special forest product permits may have specific instructions of where people cannot harvest for that particular product.
The duration of special forest product permits can vary, depending on the special forest product and the district issuing the permit. Each special forest product permit will have the duration listed on the permit. For more information, visit our website or call a ranger station.
Any restrictions for the permit will be listed on the permit itself. No power equipment (including chainsaws) is allowed March 1-Sept. 30.
Personal use permits are for people intending to harvest special forest products for one household. Depending on the permit, personal use permits may be free of charge or have a fee. Commercial use permits are intended for people who are re-selling forest products collected from Forest Service land or for those who want more than the quantity per household per year available by personal use permit. All commercial use permits require a fee.
No. Special forest product permits can only be used on the national forest and district that issued the permit. For example, if you receive a personal use firewood permit on the Hebo Ranger District, you can only harvest within the Hebo Ranger District and cannot harvest firewood on the Central Coast Ranger District.
Different special forest products have different best practices. Harvesters should always fully read the permits for any specific restrictions and make sure to be shared stewards of the land. If you create slash from harvesting (such as tree debris from cutting firewood), scatter it across the landscape to increase the rate of the decay process. If you are digging up plants (such as for transplants), fill in the hole created with soil before leaving the area. If you are cutting or harvesting parts of products (such as plant trimmings), only remove 25% of the plant/area that you are harvesting.