State, Federal Land Open for 2021 Christmas Tree Harvesting

Valley residents who want to bring that fresh Christmas tree smell into their homes by harvesting their own trees have to stick to state and federal lands for legal cutting this year after officials with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough chose to not open any of its public lands for free tree cutting.

But that doesn’t mean tree hunters will need to drive far, according to a release from Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Tree hunters simply need to head out to an unrestricted area of the Moose Range, the release says.

It’s there that tree lovers can locate, cut and haul out their chosen tree — so long as they stick to a few rules, the release states.

“Cutting Christmas trees on unrestricted state lands in the Matanuska Valley Moose Range and the Matanuska and Susitna valleys is allowed with some stipulations,” it says. “Trees must be no more than 15 feet tall and only one tree per household is allowed. Trees should be cut as low to the ground as possible. Christmas trees cut on state land are for personal use only and may not be sold.”

But that’s not it. To be legal, the tree must be cut not just on unrestricted DNR land, but explicitly off state park land, Department of Transportation (DOT) right-of-ways and, of course, Alaska Native land and private property.

The area of the Moose Range open to cutting is located between Palmer-Fishhook Road and Buffalo Mine-Moose Creek. A full area map can be seen on the DNR website.

For those who want to take a tree finding field trip out of the Valley, federal land in Chugach National Forest are also open for cutting. That opening only excludes Portage Valley, up Portage Glacier Road to Portage Lake, and Turnagain Pass starting at mile 70 of the Seward Highway and extending to Bertha Creek Campground at mile 65.5.

Trees cut from that area must be harvested from at least 200 feet off the road and 450 feet away from picnic areas, campgrounds, administration buildings, trails and bodies of water, the National Forest press release states. Trees should not be felled into streams or other bodies of water, they said, And tree topping, a practice where the top portion of a more mature tree is cut, leaving the bottom portion in the ground, is not allowed. Users should harvest the entire tree, removing everything except for the stump and cutting as close to the ground as possible. Stumps should be no higher than six inches tall, they said.

Some area residents who said they have experience with fresh Christmas tree harvesting noted the most important thing about picking one is making sure it is selected from open land, not private property.

“Go where it is allowed to cut instead of driving around neighborhoods and down roads to cut trees that may belong to someone else,” advised Veronika Byers in a post on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook page. “Just because the trees are on the side of the road or on an easement, does not make them fair game.”

For picking and moving a perfect tree, commenters suggested waiting until the temperature outside is right. Harvesting in very cold temperatures near or below zero could make branches snap more easily and needles fall off sooner than expected, they said.