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Tahoe Family Guy: It's open season on fir trees |
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Written by Andrew Cristancho/Tahoe World - View Profile
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Tuesday, 27 November 2007 |
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Okay I’m full.
I’ve had two giant Thanksgiving dinners; one at my house and one at a friend’s. Not to mention turkey sandwiches, turkey tacos and turkey kabobs, all of which I have slathered in gravy and cranberries.
Guess what time it is now?
No! Not diet time.
It’s time to go cut down trees on Forest Service land — yeah.
There is nothing like overeating for a week straight to really get a guy’s appetite whet for cutting down a Christmas tree.
The Forest Service began issuing permits last Wednesday and I feel good about cutting one down because the permits are being offered to help reduce hazardous forest fuels that have built up over years of fire suppression.
 And, the removal of excessive amounts of small trees from the forest will help create a healthier forest over time, according to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
Furthermore, at $10 a pop I can’t afford not to cut down my own tree. The last time I bought a five-footer from a lot it cost me about $50. Of course I was supporting the Boy Scouts, but I can still support them with the $40 I save.
I have the nagging feeling though that somehow I might forget about the local Boy Scout troop after I finish cutting my tree.
Something else nags at my brain when I think about cutting down my own tree. Oh yeah — I’m a wannabe tree hugger. Tree huggers don’t cut down trees, they worship them.
I remember reading a book by Alice Walker, and in it one of the characters, Shug, talks about her reverence for trees and how the entire human race is connected to the whole of nature.
 “I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed,” Shug said.
So anyway there are a limited number of permits available for sale so I won’t just pick one up for my house but for my neighbors down the street. Sorry Shug, now that I’m 39 and Christmas means having a live tree dying indoors, I’m going with the Forest Service’s advice.
It’s open season on the firs — for the good of the forest.
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