Some Southeast residents put up Christmas decorations over Thanksgiving weekend. The centerpiece, of course, is the tree.

The U.S. Forest Service allows each household to cut down one Christmas tree from the Tongass National Forest per year. Julia Spofford is the assistant director at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. No permit is required, but she said residents should follow a few key guidelines to protect ecosystems.

“We don’t want to do any trees within, you know, 330 feet of bald eagle nests, or 100 feet of salmon streams or 100 feet of roads or trails,” she said.

She said to only take a tree that’s seven inches in diameter or smaller, and to cut as low to the ground as possible.

“We ask that you avoid muskeg as well, just because the regeneration in those areas is difficul

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