The U.S. Forest Service is issuing Christmas tree permits for $5 at each of the Flathead National Forest offices in Kalispell, Hungry Horse and Bigfork. Each permit is good for the harvest of one tree from National Forest Land, with a maximum of three permits per household.
New this year, Christmas tree permits for the 2018 season are now available for purchase online.
The Flathead National Forest is one of four National Forests participating in offering permits online through the Open Forest system. Christmas tree permits purchased online will have to be printed to be valid, and are only valid for trees harvested from the Flathead National Forest.
However, this program allows residents to purchase their 2018 Christmas tree permit from the comfort of their own home, or by using a mobile device instead of traveling to a Forest Service office.
Learn how to purchase a permit and harvest a Christmas tree online at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/flathead/passes-permits/forestproducts/?cid=stelprdb5402370.
Traditional Christmas tree permits will still be available at local Forest Service offices, or participating vendors.
The Forest Service will use feedback from the 2018 Christmas tree season to continue to refine and improve the online permit system for forest visitors in the future.
For more information about the Christmas tree program on the Flathead National Forest, please call (406) 758-5204.