Chinook FFA Chapter Will Re-purpose Holiday Trees
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The Chinook Chapter of the FFA, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, will again collect Christmas trees after the holidays so that they can be re-purposed as fish habitat. According to FFA Advisor Karyn Billmayer, the Chapter will accept trees in two ways: drop-off and pickup.
The Community Gardens across the street from the Chinook High School shop will serve as a central drop-off location for any community members wishing to see their trees recycled. Additionally, FFA members will be travelling around on January 4 after school to pick up trees at houses in the Chinook city limits. To leave addresses and an alert about a tree available for pickup, people are encouraged to contact Billmayer by email (billmayerk@chinookschools.org) or by text or phone call (307-431-6229).
About the project, Billmayer stated: "Even though we will be driving around looking for trees on curbs, we don't want to miss any, so contacting us is preferred. Last year we had a great turn out and delivered over 30 trees to the fish and game location in Havre."
When approached about continuing that project, Cody Nagel, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) Fisheries Biologist who provides leadership to fish habitat projects in the Havre area, said he was on board.
"We have the necessary paperwork completed to do the project, and I've also got all the blocks, cable, and clamps needed to bundle and sink the trees. We just need to collect them," Nagel reported.
As a partner in the Christmas Tree Project, the FFA Chapter will bundle the salvaged Christmas trees, which will then be placed in specific areas of Fresno Reservoir to improve fish habitat.
According to Nagel, the primary purpose of the project is to increase yellow perch spawning habitat. "Yellow perch typically deposit their eggs in a gelatinous membrane called a skein, which they often drape over submerged vegetation and branches during their spring spawn. The tree structures also provide cover and security for all small fish, essentially reducing predation by larger fish and birds," Nagel stated.
Nagel went on to explain that Christmas tree structures are placed so that, as the reservoir fills in the spring, the trees will become submerged in areas likely to be used by yellow perch for spawning activity. By providing additional spawning habitat for yellow perch, it is hoped that over time the numbers of this species will improve in the reservoir. An increase in the abundance of this important forage species is also beneficial to predatory fish populations in the reservoir, such as walleye and northern pike.
"Depending on the tree sizes, each bundle will consist of four to eight trees, which are then anchored to blocks so that they stay sunk on the reservoir's bottom," Nagel said.
In performing this phase of the project, FWP has worked in partnership with organizations such as the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited whose membership has been assisting with this project since its inception in 2017.
