Ky. Fish and Wildlife collecting Christmas trees for fish habitat

KENTUCKY (WFIE) - Officials say you can help improve Kentucky’s fisheries by donating your natural Christmas tree to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ Christmas for the Fishes tree recycling program.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will be accepting evergreen trees at more than 30 drop-off locations across the commonwealth from Dec. 26 through Jan. 15, 2023.

There is a location in McLean County.

Trees should be real, not artificial, and should be free of any lights, garland and decorations. Limbs, wreaths, brush or other plants will not be accepted.

Donated Christmas trees will be anchored to environmentally-friendly weights and submerged at various depths in different lakes and reservoirs across Kentucky to provide places for fish to feed, shelter and spawn.

They make great refuge and feeding habitat for game fish, as well as small fish and invertebrates that are crucial for a thriving ecosystem.

“Fish require more than open water to thrive,” said Joseph Zimmerman, habitat program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “They also require an environment that provides food, shelter and shade in summer. The trees will help replenish the woody cover in lakes and reservoirs that decays over time, leaving fish vulnerable to their surroundings.”