Permits are now available to cut your own Christmas tree on Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest land.
For the first time this year, kids in the fourth grade can get a free permit. The free permits are part of the Every Kid in a Park program, an effort to encourage kids and families to visit public lands.
To get a free permit, kids need to print a paper voucher from the Every Kid in a Park website, www.everykidinapark.gov. Bring the vouchers to a Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest office.
Otherwise, permits are $10 for a tree up to 12 feet tall. Taller trees require a $20 permit. The $10/12-foot-and-under permits also can be purchased at REI locations.
For information on where trees can be cut, and the most up-to-date information about road conditions and closures, check with the nearest Forest Service ranger station. Some roads are closed after recent storms. Access to most cutting areas is on dirt roads, and some roads may require high-clearance vehicles and 4-wheel drive. Be prepared for winter driving conditions and carry chains, a shovel and warm clothes.
Forester Lee Redmond, of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, stresses that finding the right Christmas tree can be an all-day affair. At lower elevations, many trees are going to be too tall. Higher elevations might be snow-covered already.
Redmond said that people should avoid cutting hemlocks, which are a fire hazard indoors because they dry out so quickly. Hemlocks often have droopy tops and have flat needles — the needles are all on one plane on the branch, instead of resembling a bottle brush. (See what a hemlock looks like.)
Permits can be obtained at:
Verlot Public Service Center
33515 Mountain Loop Highway, Granite Falls; 360-691-7791
Weekends, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Darrington Ranger Station
1405 Emens Ave. N., Darrington; 360-436-1155
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Darrington Hardware
1220 State Route 530 NE, Darrington; 360-436-1260
Mondays-Saturdays, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Skykomish Ranger Station
74920 NE Stevens Pass Highway, Skykomish; 360-677-2414
Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
For more locations on U.S. 2, go to 1.usa.gov/1PXCcXT.
REI Alderwood store
3000 184th St. SW Lynnwood; 425-640-6200
Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Closed Nov. 27.
Seattle REI
222 Yale Ave. N. Seattle; 206-470-4060
Daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Nov. 27.
Snoqualmie Ranger Station
902 SE North Bend Way, North Bend; 425-888-1421
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28-29, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Dec. 5-6, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Dec. 12-13, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Mount Baker Ranger Station
810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley; 360-856-5700 Ext. 515
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Glacier Public Service Center
Highway 542, Glacier; 360-599-2714
Weekends, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Cash, credit cards and checks are accepted at Forest Service stations and the Seattle and Alderwood REI stores. The Glacier and Verlot Public Service Centers accept only cash and checks.
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