Used Christmas Trees Needed for AGFC's Habitat for the Holidays Program

Used Christmas trees needed for AGFC’s Habitat for the Holidays program 

LITTLE ROCK —  After the holiday cheermeister calls an end to a season of tinsel, lights and carols, the fate of many real Christmas trees is a gloomy trip down the garbage chute to Mount Crumpit, or the nearest landfill. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has a second, far more meaningful life for these one-time-use evergreens as crucial underwater habitat for Arkansas's fish populations.

The Natural State is full of fantastic water to wet a line and enjoy a day of angling, but the natural cover available in some lakes has grown quite “grinchy” — perhaps two sizes too small. The addition of a few firs or cedars left from your holiday cheer can add cover for fish and create a fishing hot spot you won’t need a 39-and-a-half-foot pole to reach. 

The AGFC has set up a network of locations where anyone can drop off their used trees to help Christmas … perhaps … mean a little bit more.

Once submerged in lakes and reservoirs across the state, the donated trees provide immediate benefits:

• Refuge: The dense network of branches offers small game fish and baitfish critical protection from larger predators, which helps more of them survive and grow.
• Dining Hall: As these trees decompose, they become a buffet for algae and aquatic insects, which fuel the base of the aquatic food web. 
• Fishing Hot Spots: Larger fish like bass and crappie are drawn to this new cover to hide and ambush prey, bringing excellent angling opportunities with them.

Unlike Dr. Seuss’ famous Santa impersonator, the AGFC can’t take the trees “tinsel and all”; donations should be stripped of all lights, ornaments and other decorations before being dropped off. Artificial trees also cannot be donated because the plastic they are made of is not designed to be submerged and could leach harmful chemicals into the water. 

Trees are free for any angler to use for habitat. AGFC biologists recommend tying cinder blocks or sandbags to the trees with paracord to weigh them down. The cord will hold the trees down until they are waterlogged and settle on the bottom. 

Anglers planning to sink any materials in lakes or rivers should call the lake owner beforehand to make sure placing habitat is allowed. Some water-supply reservoirs and other lakes have regulations to prevent placing brush without permission. 

Biologists also recommend sinking multiple trees at each location. Christmas trees don’t have many thick branches and deteriorate quickly, but clusters of the main trunks can offer a year or two of woody cover. 

Trees can be dropped off at any of the following locations until the end of January:

Northwest Arkansas

Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access, AGFC Don Roufa Highway 412 Access and Monte Ne Boat Ramp Access

Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access

Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access

Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access

Lake Fayetteville — Boat Ramp Access

North Arkansas

Bull Shoals Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Norfork Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Northeast Arkansas

Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake Boat Ramp

Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access

Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access

Lake Charles – West parking lot at Highway 25 Boat Ramp Access

Lake Poinsett — Dam Access Boat Ramp

Batesville — Ramsey Slough Boat Ramp

Central Arkansas

Arkansas River – Riverview Park Access in North Little Rock

Lake Barnett – Reed Access

Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access

Lake Pickthorne – Holland Bottoms Access

Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing

Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access

Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access

West Central Arkansas

Lake Atkins (Pope County)

Lake Jack Nolen

Sugar Loaf Lake

East Arkansas

Horseshoe Lake — Bonds Access

Wynne Sports Complex Family and Community Fishing Pond 

Southeast Arkansas

Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Cook’s Lake Nature Center 

bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart 

AGFC Regional Office at Monticello - 771 Jordan Drive

Connerly Bayou Boat Ramp- Lake Chicot

South Arkansas

Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory

Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing

Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371

El Dorado – Union County Fairgrounds

Southwest Arkansas

Millwood Lake – Millwood State Park ramp on the point

Dierks City Pond – Main parking area

Rick Evans Grandview Prairie – Nature Center 

Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East

Lake Dieffenbacher – Bobby Ferguson Park Pavilion, Texarkana