Get your permit before you cut a tree

If you have visions of family trips to the woods to cut down your Christmas tree, now’s the time to get a permit.

Permits, $10, are available for certain areas of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest at ranger stations, at Verlot and Glacier Peak Service Centers, and at REI at Alderwood Mall and Seattle, now through Dec. 24.

The $10 permit allows you to cut one tree 12 feet and under. Permits for taller trees are $20.

Pick up maps of the cutting areas where you purchase your permit.

You may also need a Sno-Park parking permit. The Forest Service warns that roads in these areas can be snow-covered, icy and unplowed, so be prepared with chains and shovels.

Call the ranger station for information about weather conditions before setting out: Darrington, 360-436-1155; Verlot, 360-691-7791; and Skykomish, 360-677-2414. See www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs for other areas. The Web site also has updated weather and road conditions.

Look for The Herald’s annual list of U-cut Christmas tree places in Good Life on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.

Herald staff