Donate your Christmas tree to Arkansas Game and Fish

Once the wrapping paper has been thrown away and the last drop of egg nog has been consumed, few people have a use for that evergreen tree that graced their home during the holiday season. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has a new job for those leftover trees: fish habitat.

The AGFC has drop-off locations across the state to let your old Christmas tree have a second life as underwater cover. The small spaces and dense cover offered by fresh Christmas trees make excellent nursery habitat for small fish as well as great places to fish.

Anglers are welcome to remove trees from drop-off locations to create their own fish attractors. Tying the trees to cinder blocks with parachute cord is a popular option to weight the trees down.

The small branches will deteriorate quickly, so it’s best to sink the trees in groups. The trunks of the trees will last much longer, offering some woody cover long after a single tree’s attractiveness wanes.

Trees should be clean of all ornaments, lights and tinsel before they are dropped off. Artificial Christmas trees should not be used as fish habitat, either.

Trees can be dropped off at any of the following locations until the end of January:

Northwest Arkansas

Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access, AGFC Don Roufa Highway 412 Access and Monte Ne Boat Ramp Access Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access

Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access

Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access

North Arkansas

Bull Shoals Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Norfork Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Northeast Arkansas

Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake boat ramp Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access

Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access

Lake Charles – West parking lot at Highway 25 Boat Ramp Access

Central Arkansas

Arkansas River – Riverview Park Access in North Little Rock

Lake Barnett – Reed Access

Lake Conway – Lawrence Landing Access

Greers Ferry Lake – Sandy Beach (Heber Springs), Devils Fork Recreation Area and Choctaw Recreation Area (Choctaw-clinton)

Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access

Lake Pickthorne – Boat Ramp Access

Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing

Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access Area

Jack Nolen – Boat Ramp Access at Fire Station

Sugar Loaf Lake – Boat Ramp Access

East Arkansas

Horseshoe Lake — Boat Ramp Access

Wynne Sports Complex Family and Community Fishing Pond

Southeast Arkansas

Lake Chicot – Connerly Bayou Access Area

Lake Monticello – Hunger Run Access

Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Conservation Education Center at 625 Cook’s Lake Road, Casscoe, or the bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart South Arkansas

Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory

Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371

El Dorado – City recycling center drop-offs: one behind Arby’s and one on South Jackson

Smackover – Recycling Drop-off Center (these will be transported to El Dorado)

Southwest Arkansas

Bois d’arc Lake – Kidd’s Landing or Hatfield Access Millwood Lake – Cottonshed, White Cliffs Recreation Areas and the Millwood State Park ramp on the point Dierks Lake – Jefferson Ridge South Recreation Area De Queen Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Gillham Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp

Lake Greeson – New Cowhide Cove and Self Creek Recreation areas

South Fork Lake – South Fork Lake Access

Terre Noire Lake – Terre Noire Lake Access

Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East