When the holiday season comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to think about giving back. Before sending the centerpiece of your decor to the curb where it’s destined for the landfill, consider donating your Christmas tree to your local parks and wildlife department, like we did for this project with our friends at the Inland Fisheries Division of TPWD. As long as your Christmas tree isn’t plastic it can become a habitat for fish, and a future honey hole for anglers.

Nationwide, reservoirs are in need of habitat improvements. Sediment is washed into our river systems and accumulates in reservoirs. Over time, the trees and plants that fish rely on are covered up by settling dirt, resulting in a deficient habitat impacting the health of the fish populations as well and degrading fishing quality.

“Revegetation projects are underway, but a fir tree in the water provides an immediate habitat for the fish,” says John Findeisen. John leads a team within Aquatic Vegetation Management at TPWD, is the keeper of the Habitat Barge, and has been a fish biologist for 20 years.

Sunken brush — like fir, pine, or spruce Christmas trees — offers cover and foraging areas for fish. Bait fish like crappie will use the smaller spaces in the branches for protection from predators and foraging. Larger brush piles allow for the creation of holes that may be used by bigger predatory fish like largemouth bass and catfishes. And it really doesn't take much before seeing the benefits. John says, “even within 10-15 minutes of sinking the tree, we see fish utilizing it as habitat.”

Well-placed habitat structures improve the concentration of fish in an area and improve the fishing for anglers. After the TPWD drops the trees, the coordinates are provided to anglers to fish these new honey holes. “Two of the biggest projects we did were at Lake Brownwood and Lake Proctor in central Texas in 2016,” explains Mike Homer Jr., a fisheries biologist with the TPWD. “The brushpile projects at these reservoirs used about 600 trees. While the feedback we receive on the fishing is anecdotal, we know the bass clubs had a lot of success fishing these locations,” says Mike. 

Another big project was at Lake Corpus Christie State Park, an inland reservoir near the Gulf Coast where the TPWD dropped about 200 trees. If every neighborhood got together to recycle their trees instead of burn, mulch, or throw them out, larger waterbodies could have multiple reefs, more fish habitats could benefit, and it doesn’t hurt that anglers’ catch rates would also improve.

Because fir, pine, and spruce trees are softwood and have faster breakdown rates compared to hardwoods, when it comes to Christmas tree reefs, there’s always a need for more. “Depending on how deep they’re sunk and the temperature of the water, the habitat will last anywhere from one to five years in Texas,” says Mike.

And if you’re wondering how a non-local tree can be introduced into your community’s water bodies, John clarified for us that since the tree is already dead and dried out, and it doesn’t have any seed, there are no concerns for introducing anything invasive or detrimental to the ecosystem, as long as all the decorative tinsel, ornaments, and hooks are completely removed.

Just be sure to always work with your local parks department, as permission needs to be obtained. Better yet, your local Parks department will be able to direct you to a drop off location or a collection event so your donation can be part of making a larger impact.

Consider starting a new holiday tradition of donating your 100% natural, decoration-free Christmas tree to your local parks department, and let the last gift of the holiday season be the tree itself.

No matter where you live, your tree can help.

Start by contacting your local Parks & Wildlife Department today and use your fir for good.