Looking for a Christmas tree cutting permit? It’ll be a drive

Permits to cut down Christmas trees in Arizona’s national forests are on sale now, and for the first time in recent years, there won’t be an option of purchasing a permit from a chain of Valley sporting-goods stores.

As a result, the only option for purchasing a permit for most forests will be to go directly to a U.S. Forest Service ranger office.

The biggest impact will involve permits for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, which span much of Arizona’s Mogollon Rim country and into the White Mountains. The Apache-Sitgreaves forests offer the most available permits among Arizona’s six national forests, and has typically offered

them for purchase at local Big 5 Sporting Goods stores, which has about 20 Valley locations. That saved Phoenix metro area residents a long drive to the forests to purchase one ahead of time.

This year, the permits are not being offered through the stores, as the contract with Big 5 was not renewed. As recently as 2012, five of the national forests — Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto — all offered permits for sale at the stores, as well as at their ranger offices. Apache-Sitgreaves continued selling them there annually through 2014.

Now, anyone wanting a permit to cut in the Apache-Sitgreaves designated cutting areas will have to drive to one of five locations in the forests. For Valley residents, the closest are a couple of hours away: the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center, off State Route 260 about 30 miles east of Payson, or the Black Mesa Ranger District office in Overgaard.

The $15 permits are not sold online or by phone, and only the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona allows a mail-in request.

Valley residents who want to purchase a permit ahead of their cutting day, but do not want to leave the Valley to do so, have a closer alternative. The Tonto National Forest makes permits available at forest office locations in Phoenix and east Mesa. Tonto is the closest national forest to the Valley, spanning from the desert area at the northern reaches of the Valley up to the high country north of Payson, where designated cutting areas are located.

Permits for the Tonto National Forest went on sale Nov. 2 and have been selling faster than last year, said Carrie Templin, a forest spokeswoman. She speculated that could be a result of Apache-Sitgreaves no longer selling permits in the Valley, or of Tonto being the first forest to make permits available this year.

Tonto is making 750 permits available this year, down from 900 last year, Templin said. The allocation was reduced because the forest sold only 560 permits last year. However, as of Nov. 6, 413 already had been sold this season.

“We’ve never sold out of permits before,” she said.

Apache-Sitgreaves is making 7,500 permits available this year, the same as 2014, said forest spokeswoman Marta Call. Permits went on sale Monday.

While most forests sell only one permit per household, Apache-Sitgreaves this year is allowing one person to purchase three permits, to account for friends or family members who might not be able to drive ahead of time to the high country to make the purchase. In addition, the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center will be open on Saturdays, as well as weekdays after Thanksgiving, to allow people to make the purchase and then go to a cutting area the same day.

Call said the contract with Big 5 was not renewed in part because other forests did not continue with the Valley store sales. The Forest Service has worked on setting up an online purchasing system, but it was not ready in time for this season. The agency is hoping to offer online sales in 2016, Call said.

Despite the inconvenience, she said interest remains high among Phoenix-area residents looking to head to the high country and cut their own trees.

“They’re calling us from the Phoenix area, and in communities around Phoenix, saying they did it when they were a kid, and they want to bring their kids and their grandkids to carry on the

“(Tree-cutting permits) pretty much sell out by December. People have been calling already for six weeks.”

tradition,” Call said.

Debbie Maneely, spokeswoman for the Prescott National Forest, said 450 permits will be made available this year when they go on sale today. The forest sells out quickly and expects the permits will be gone before Dec. 1, she added.

“You can buy five permits per household, so somebody could come in and buy one for their relatives. We have people who live up here and purchase them for their friends or family in Phoenix,” she said.

The Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff will make 600 permits available, which will be divided among three northern Arizona locations, said Lynn Bleeker, a forest spokeswoman.

“These pretty much sell out by December. People have been calling already for six weeks,” she said. Coconino is also offering a deal for fourthgrade students, who can download a voucher from the forest website for a free permit.

LYNN BLEEKER

COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST SPOKESWOMAN