(LEX 18) — Christmas trees bring joy to many people around the holidays and, according to Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife, the evergreens also benefit our aquatic ecosystems.
"Its pretty impressive. It does draw in the fish because it causes those fish to interact basically," Biologist Jeff Crosby said.
Crosby noted that the department has been dropping Christmas trees in different lakes across the state since 2017. He added that the annual "Christmas for the Fishes" recycling program helps the underwater habitats.
"Areas where fish can utilize, where they can feed, where they can find cover, places they can hide. It's a great way we can collect a lot of material really quick for a lot of these projects," Crosby said.
Crosby also detailed that the same habitats that filled Kentucky's lakes decades ago are now non-existent.
"This is a great opportunity for people to help out, back to the resources provided us," expressed Crosby. "Pretty good material that we can use to enhance those the lakes and ponds around the state. It's very important because our lakes are aging."
The agency offers 33 drop-off locations which can be found here.
"We ask that it just be Christmas trees. No artificial, we are looking for live Christmas trees people want to recycle after the holidays. And remove the lights and the garland, and all the ornaments and everything. We are just looking for the trees," Crosby concluded.
