Stanislaus National Forest

News Release

USDA Forest Service
Stanislaus National Forest

Christmas Tree Permits Not Offered This Year

Sonora, CA (September 10, 2007) ...The Forest Service today announced that the Stanislaus National Forest (NF) will not offer Christmas tree permits this year. Stanislaus NF Supervisor Tom Quinn has elected at this time to not pursue a proposal to sell Personal Use Christmas tree permits, primarily because under current guidelines, permit fees could not be retained locally to offset the additional cost of the proposed permit program.

The decision to not offer the permits this year is based on the fact that Forest managers have recently learned that the proposed permit fees required to offset added costs to develop, administer, and manage the proposed program could not be retained at the Forest level. Consequently, Forest managers are putting the idea on hold for the time being, and may revisit the proposal in the future if fee retention becomes an economically viable tool for helping to fund such a program.

Forest resource managers were proposing earlier to enter into a Christmas tree cutting program, determining what should be charged per permit, and deciding the best means to sell permits in the context of providing recreational opportunities for the public’s use of their national forests. The proposed Christmas Tree Permit cutting areas would have been initially limited in scope, with the sales conducted on a trial basis.

In order to make a well-informed decision, Forest resource managers earlier sought public comments, suggestions, concerns and ideas related to the proposal. Information gathered through public comments received by last June 29 will be retained on file for future use in the event the Forest revisits this proposal.