This holiday season, give the gift of fish and wildlife habitat
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EmailLearn more about what to do with your Christmas tree after the holidays.
Each year, Michiganders purchase millions of live Christmas trees. When the holidays are over, many wonder if there are more beneficial uses for their trees rather than sending them to a landfill. The answer is yes— there are many ways that your old Christmas tree can keep on giving as habitat, but it’s important to think carefully about the best way to do so.
Christmas trees for fish? There are better options
People often ask whether their Christmas trees would make a good habitat for fish. This is a great question, as many of Michigan’s lakes once had woody habitats, such as a fallen tree, every 5 to 50 feet! These woody habitats are important for fish, turtles, frogs, herons, and other animals because it provides refuge from predators and opportunities to bask in the sun, reduces wave energy that erodes shorelines, and encourages growth of aquatic plants. Harder-wood trees with an open branch structure provide high-quality habitat.
However, Christmas trees are classified as softwoods, and are typically species such as balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine. These softwoods break down relatively quickly in aquatic environments. The dense branches on Christmas trees that are perfect for holding ornaments are often too dense for many fish to use as habitat.
Additionally, pesticides applied to Christmas trees, leftover decorations, and anchors used to sink trees may introduce unwanted things into our waters. So, if you’re thinking about sinking that tree in your favorite lake for fish habitat, we encourage you to consider an alternative.
Suggested Christmas tree uses
What is the best use for your Christmas tree? Here are some options:
- Create a brush pile on your property to provide habitat; wildlife may use it for nesting or as a food source. Just make sure that the tree is pesticide-free and that you’ve removed all of the ornaments and other decorations.
- Cut the tree into small pieces or mulch it to use in garden pots or landscaping, which will return nutrients to the soil. Depending on the type of gardening you’re doing and the type of tree you have, you may need to confirm that the tree is pesticide-free and that it won’t negatively affect soil composition for whatever you’re growing.
- Give the tree to a friend who has chickens or goats. Chickens can roost on them and goats love to chew on them. Again, make sure the tree is pesticide-free before allowing animals to use it.
- Recycle your tree through your municipality. Many cities and towns collect trees or have designated drop-off locations; these trees are usually turned into mulch.
Improving lake habitat the right way
If you’d like to improve your local lake’s woody habitat for fish, birds, turtles and other wildlife, it is best to use the shoreline woody structure methods promoted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Michigan State University Extension. These approaches, often called “fish sticks” or “turtle logs,” provide long-lasting benefits. Woody habitat should be placed in areas where it won’t impede navigation on the water and be secured to the shoreline or lake bottom to ensure that the habitat structure stays in place.
Remember, regardless of the methods you use, you must secure a permit from EGLE when placing fish habitat structures or anything that may affect the bottomlands on public waters in Michigan. EGLE has developed the Minor Project Category: Fish and Wildlife Habitat Structures permit to encourage creation of shoreline woody structures through a relatively easy and low-cost permit category and expedited process.
If you’re interested in adding shoreline woody structure to your local body of water, a quick meeting with your local EGLE district staff person is a great first step to ensure the project meets permitting criteria. Pre-application meetings can also be requested through MiEnviro, EGLE’s permitting and compliance database, to discuss project design and regulatory standards.
If you own waterfront property, consider how woody habitat would naturally make its way into the water. Does your waterfront have trees planted near the shoreline? If they were to fall in, would you remove them or leave them in the water for fish and wildlife habitat? You might consider planting water-tolerant native tree species near the shoreline of your property and allowing fallen trees to remain in the water as gifts that keep on giving back to the lake’s fish, turtles, birds, and other wildlife.
