It just became easier to head out and pick the perfect Christmas tree this holiday season. The Alberta government has waived the five-dollar permit fee for collecting a Christmas tree on Crown land.

Albertans have access to over 87 million acres of Crown land to make use of the Personal Use Forest Products Permit. The Permit lets users harvest the following for free within a 30-day period. 

  • Three 2.5 m Christmas trees (8ft and under.)

  • Five cubic metres of firewood (5 to 7 large coniferous trees (needles) or 4 to 6 deciduous trees (leaves)

  • Five cubic meters of roundwood (for rails and fenceposts) 

  • 20 2.5 m tree transplants (8 ft and under)

While waiving the fee of the permit is predicted to save Albertans close to $100,000, anyone caught harvesting Crown land trees without a permit will be charged a fine that could be as high as thousands of dollars.

You can get a free Personal Use Forest Products Permit here.