How to get a permit to cut down a Christmas tree in Northern California

For many Northern California families, harvesting your own Christmas tree is a holiday tradition — and in the next couple weeks, permits to do so are opening up in forests throughout the state. 

Among them is the Eldorado National Forest, which will sell permits online beginning Oct. 28. There will also be permits available for purchase in person on Nov. 4.

Alizabeth O’Neal, a spokesperson for the Eldorado National Forest, said the forest is offering around 5,000 permits this year — and they tend to go fast. 

“Typically, we’ll sell out the day we open up concessions,” she said. “When we do these in-person events, we will have lines that are all the way down the block.” 

The practice also plays a role in forest management. Lisa Herron, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson with the Lake Tahoe Basin, said the thousands of permits issued each year allow Californians to help thin overcrowded forests and even reduce fire risks. 

Permits in the Lake Tahoe Basin will be available for in-person purchase only starting Nov. 6. 

“It's been a way to offer a traditional holiday experience while improving forest health by removing small diameter ladder fuels,” she said. “And a ladder fuel is actually vegetation that allows wildfire to climb up from the forest floor into the tops of the trees.” 

Permit holders are allowed to chop down their pine, fir or cedar tree of choice once the permit is purchased. Each permit holder should come prepared with the necessary materials to harvest a tree. O’Neal said handsaws are recommended. 

There are some restrictions to what trees can be cut down, which vary from forest to forest. In the Lake Tahoe Basin, a tree’s diameter at its base should not exceed six inches. 

“Most of the Christmas trees I'd say that people select are much smaller,” said Herron. “They're probably three to four inches in diameter at the base of the tree.”

Herron added that the chosen tree must also be within 10 feet of another green tree. She said these requirements ensure that the harvested tree’s absence is a benefit for the forest. 

“That's the idea, to thin these trees out so that there's a space around the remaining trees,” Herron said. 

Due to the fact that permits will only be sold in person, Herron said she expects the Lake Tahoe Basin area will not run out. But in general, she said it’s always a good idea to see if permits are available at other forests if your first option is sold out.