Recycled Christmas trees given new life as fish habitats
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Christmas may be over, but a volunteer group called “Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park” is working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to give Christmas trees a new life as fish habitats in southern Colorado.
“The little fish can get in there and escape from the big fish that are eating them,” said Ralph Cadwallader, 78, a member of the group.
The volunteer group started in 2001 maintaining trails at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and started its fire mitigation efforts in 2015 removing primarily Gambel oak trees, but also small Douglas fir trees and shrubs to create a more moist environment for the surrounding Ponderosa trees. These efforts slow down the spread of wildfires, giving firefighters a better chance to put out the flames, said Cadwallader.
Cadwallader said he noticed the Douglas fir trees they were cutting down in Cheyenne Mountain State Park looked like Christmas trees. The volunteer group decided to sell them in 2021 and use the proceeds to fund their volunteer efforts.
Jim Ramsay, a CPW aquatic biologist for the southeast corner of Colorado, has collected recycled Christmas trees for fish habits for the past 23 years.
“Water fluctuation is the biggest challenge from my job,” Ramsay said.
During wet years, lakes, rivers, and flowing water flood the shoreline, allowing shrubs and small trees to serve as natural habitats for fish. But during dry years, Ramsay said the water basins in his region are like an empty fish bowl. He said 2025 was an average year, but that the lack of snow has made this winter particularly dry.
Adding trees can help fish during dry years when water levels don’t reach the shrubs.
“So, when the lakes get low, it is especially important to provide artificial habitat or, or even natural habitat, like we used with these Christmas trees, to provide structure in these lakes with these fish,” he said.
Christmas trees, as Cadwallader mentioned, allow fish to hide from predators, but they also give fish a place to rest. This results in higher fish populations, which also benefit local anglers, Ramsay said.
His team uses sonar to track the impact of a Christmas tree habitat on the local fish population.
Aquatic biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife's southeastern region use sonar to track the impact of a Christmas tree habitat on the local fish population. Video courtesy Cody Campbell and Jim Ramsay, CPW
CPW biologists collect the trees in January, but Ramsay said his team doesn’t usually use them until the spring or summer. The habitats are particularly beneficial to the sunfish family like bass, crappies, and bluegill.
Lamar’s North Gateway Park, a former gravel pit-turned-fishing pond, benefits from the Christmas trees because it is not a natural fish habitat. Ramsay said there are numerous other gravel pits turned into ponds, and that those areas are a high priority for dropping the trees.
A white truck pulled up to the drop-off site at Cheyenne Mountain State Park at the last recycling drop-off this past Sunday, and Kyle Ries, 39, pulled his roughly 8 foot Christmas tree from his truck bed and lugged it over to the pile of soon-to-be recycled trees. Ries bought the tree from “Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park” and was excited to support the park and give the tree a second use.
“Just the local connection… We're big fans of the state park and, I know over the past years, some other forms of support for parks have gone down a little bit. So, I figured it made more sense to support this,” said Ries.
The last Christmas tree recycling drop-off site will be in the parking lot of the Cheyenne Mountain Visitor Center in Colorado Springs (410 JL Ranch Heights Rd) January 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park” request a five dollar donation for their recycling service.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.