What is the environmental impact of using a real
Christmas tree?
 As
we examine our personal conduct on the planet, we can reasonably
ask what impact does carrying on with the real Christmas tree tradition
have on the land and our environment, and are Christmas trees being
grown in an environmentally sustainable way? While we so often hear
of battles lost on the environmental front, there is good news here
that is truly welcome.
Santa & Sons Oregon Christmas tree farm is environmentally
certified
 The
Christmas tree farm is a member of The Coalition of Environmentally
Conscious Growers, which was formed in Oregon in 2007 to ensure
that growers are utilizing sustainable farming practices in the
production of Christmas trees. On-site farm inspections are conducted
by an established independent auditing firm, The Freer Consulting
Co. of Seattle, WA.
Coalition Christmas tree growers agree to farm using
methods that are conscious of the environment, and to submit their
farms to an ongoing series of independent physical audits that verify
compliance with strict certification program standards for Soil
and Water Conservation, Riparian/Wetland Management, Biodiversity ,
Nutrient Management, Pest Management, Site Selection, Worker Health
and Hygiene, and Consumer Education.
Christmas trees provide rural jobs in America
 The
environmental story of Christmas trees is unlike many others. Christmas
tree farming is very labor intensive, by today's standards, remarkably
so. Not only does this mean less equipment on the land but it generates
lots of stable employment in rural areas. The commitment of Christmas
tree growers to this long term crop provides important and predictable
jobs in a farm sector that has seen far too few in recent years.
People's livelihoods really do matter, and farming Christmas trees
provides an environmentally sustainable avenue of employment in
areas moving away from the extractive industries of the past.
Christmas tree farms are good stewards of the earth
To
understand the current state of the environmental impact we need
to look at the Christmas tree industry as it now stands. Nowadays
the tradition of going to the woods to bring home a tree for Christmas
is really just a nostalgic reminder. All the Christmas trees being
commercially produced in the United States are now grown on tree
farms, and on these lands Christmas trees are a conservation crop.
Growing trees offer many benefits that help the land
rebound and diversify. By replacing annual crops that require plowing,
disking, and harrowing each year, Christmas trees longer crop cycle
of eight or more years provides many avenues for environmental improvements.
As Christmas trees take root, we are growing and preserving
soils. Many farmlands are highly depleted of organic matter.  Christmas
trees are pruned by hand every summer, and this deposits large quantities
of twigs and needles onto the ground. This combines with a level
of grass and weeds that accumulate over the eight years or so that
it takes a Christmas tree to grow. Mature roots physically hold
the soil against erosion, and later add more organic matter as the
stumps and roots rot. After a few years of growth the young trees
help protect the ground from what is called impact erosion, which
is a result of the heavy rainfall in Christmas tree producing areas.
When the trees get big enough, the shade they produce
helps reduce soil evaporation, and offers refuge for a remarkable
diversity of wildlife.  Small
birds probably get the most benefit, but small rodents and other
mammals support populations of birds of prey. Deer are common and
even elk are in some of the more remote fields, drawn to graze on
some of their preferred foods that grow as weeds between the rows.
Christmas Tree wildlife
Another important way Christmas trees impact the environment is
controlling runoff by changing the timing of the release of water
from the soil in a beneficial way. Obviously, when receiving a deluge
of heavy rainfall, land with a humus layer and tree roots can slow
down or even eliminate surface flows of water runoff and increase
the absorption of water into the earth. This kind of sustained rainfall
happens with some regularity in the Pacific Northwest. Land growing
Christmas trees will more slowly release that water during the dry
summer months, helping to recharge aquifers and sustain low season
stream flows.
 As
farmers, we care deeply about the land where we live and work, and
we are grateful for the rural lifestyle Christmas tree farms help
sustain. Helping the environment is for us, an important part of
being at peace with the earth and with one another, which is what
Christmas is really all about. Christmas tree tradition
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