Every year the Tailor and I go to the mountains with our friends to pick out and cut our own Christmas trees. Some people, when I tell them this, look at me like I have three heads and ask, “Why don’t you just go to a tree farm?”
Well, sure, it’s more work (and a much longer trip), and wild trees are not nearly so “perfect” or full as farmed ones. But by doing things this way, our Christmas tree comes with a story every year—as well as a favorite tradition with our good friends. And there’s something wonderful about searching for a wild Northwest tree in the most beautiful and wild part of the Northwest. Somehow it feels like a quest to catch Christmas and carry it home.
Ghost domes 
Forgotten canyon 
Twists and turns 
Is it ok to chop the wild trees? Oughtn’t they to be left to live their proper wild and free lives?
Hi, Vicki. We cut our tree as part of a National Forest Service forest management program; we are issued a permit (with restrictions and limits) the way a trout fisherman would be. The trees we’re allowed to cut are always on certain designated sections of Forest Service land, and each land parcel is already logged periodically (so these are not old-growth forests). By allowing Christmas tree cutters to pick their trees, this allows the forest sections to be thinned selectively in a more natural way, rather than by clearcutting and denuding entire hillsides. There are over 6 million acres of National Forest land in Washington state, so people who buy a tree permit aren’t all cutting in the same area, either. Also, I don’t know what conditions are like in your area, but the Olympic Peninsula, where we go, gets more rain than any other part of the continental United States. Needless to say, trees grow extremely quickly there. The trees we cut are only 5 to 8 years old; this would be a very different story if we lived somewhere more arid, or where trees didn’t…well, grow on trees. And the reality of the Pacific Northwest is that this is a place where forests are not just enjoyed for their beauty—they are a natural resource, and people use them. It would be naive to assume they don’t. To start, thousands of people heat their homes solely with wood here. But what has the biggest impact are paper and lumber companies that clearcut hundreds of acres at a time and ship our trees all over the world. I think clearcutting is awful, and has terrible and far-reaching environmental consequences. So the Tailor and I actively support more sustainable forest management, like donating to and supporting National Parks (which preserve old-growth and other protected forests), and taking part in National Forest programs like this one, so that the wood we use (Christmas trees, camping and other firewood, etc.) is harvested properly. Above all, we personally believe in minimizing our use of plastic and other materials that use fossil fuel, as much as possible. We believe it is more sustainable to harvest a five-year-old tree in a rainy climate than to buy a manufactured plastic tree. Of course, you are welcome to your opinions about this practice, but we see it as responsible, sustainable forestry, and are happy to participate in it.
Chopping wild trees seemed so un-you-like. 🙂 Of COURSE you had a permit, etc. Thank you for your patience and your explanation.
I’m so glad to know.