The Department of the Interior has announced a significant reduction in permit fees for Christmas trees and firewood on federal lands, lowering costs to just one dollar per tree or cord of firewood through the end of January.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum unveiled what the department is calling a “holiday affordability effort” designed to provide relief to American families while simultaneously addressing wildfire prevention concerns on public lands. The program will remain in effect through January 31st for both the 2025 and 2026 winter seasons.
Under the new policy, families can obtain permits to harvest Christmas trees from federal lands for one dollar each, representing a reduction of nearly 100 percent from standard fees. Similarly, firewood permits have been reduced to one dollar per cord. With the current market price for an authentic six to eight-foot Christmas tree averaging $90, and a cord of firewood typically costing $300, the department estimates families could save at least $400 during the holiday season.
The Bureau of Land Management is implementing additional measures to expand access to these resources. The department is opening new cutting areas in overstocked woodlands, with priority given to locations near communities, military bases, tribal areas, and rural counties where the economic benefit would be most substantial.
Household limits have also been increased, allowing families to harvest up to ten cords of firewood and three Christmas trees. In areas with particularly abundant resources, the department has indicated it may remove these caps entirely.
The initiative serves a dual purpose beyond immediate cost savings for families. According to department officials, the program promotes forest thinning and hazardous fuel reduction across millions of acres of federal land. A study published in September by the House Committee on Natural Resources identified approximately 117 million acres of federal land at high or very high risk of wildfire. These risks have been exacerbated by overstocked forests containing hazardous dry fuels that have accumulated over decades of fire suppression and insufficient forest management practices, including inadequate thinning, prescribed burns, and mechanical treatments.
The research indicates that overstocked forests are less resilient and significantly increase the likelihood of uncontrolled wildfires. By encouraging families to harvest trees and firewood from these overstocked areas, the department aims to reduce fuel loads that contribute to catastrophic fire conditions.
The Department of the Interior projects the program will save American families a minimum of $10 million during the Christmas season while expanding opportunities for families to gather their own natural resources from public lands. Officials have framed the initiative as consistent with the administration’s broader mission to reduce costs for American households.
This year’s official Christmas tree, a 35-foot red spruce, was harvested from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, demonstrating the quality of trees available on federal lands.
The program represents a practical approach to addressing both immediate economic concerns facing American families and long-term forest management challenges that have contributed to increasingly severe wildfire seasons in recent years.
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