Christmas Trees in California Are Green in More Ways Than One.

The Holiday Tradition of Real Trees Gives Consumers Opportunity to Support Family Farms, Purchase Environmentally Friendly Product

SAN DIEGO -- With the Christmas season just around the corner, the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association is busily preparing to harvest this year's crop of environmentally safe, family grown trees.

More than 90 percent of the Christmas trees purchased in California each year come from Washington and Oregon. Beginning in mid-November, farmers will start harvesting these trees -- which are farmed like any other sustainable crop -- by selecting those trees that have reached maturity. Many farms will be employing the help of helicopters and refrigerated trucks to ensure the freshness of each tree being collected.

"This is an exciting time of year for us," said Gayla Hansen, Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association president. "This is when we finally get to send out our trees that we've carefully tended to for so many years to be the focal point of families' Christmas celebrations."

The Pacific Northwest is among the country's largest producers of Douglas-Fir, Nobel and Grand-Fir trees. Farmed by local growers, these trees are naturally raised in a sustainable manner.

* Christmas trees are farmed like any other sustainable crop. They are planted and harvested in areas to prevent interference with native vegetation and are meticulously tended to before they arrive in homes.

* In the years it takes the trees to fully develop, they produce oxygen, reduce carbon emissions and provide refuge for local wildlife.

* For each tree that is harvested, growers plant one to two more, ensuring their next harvest and the continued environmental benefits.

* In the final stage of the tree's life cycle, the people that enjoyed it as a part of their Christmas celebration can have it recycled.

* Christmas trees can be mulched, used as compost, used in the production of paper products or even lowered into a local pond to provide cover for aquatic life.

"Buying a real Christmas tree is the next 'green decision' the public can make," said Mike Bondi, University of Oregon Environmental Science professor. "In fact, a real tree is the safest choice since the tree is helpful to the environment from the time it is planted right up to the recycling process."

Most of the 1,075 farms in the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association are family owned operations where generations of families work together.

"When you buy a real Christmas tree, you're supporting U.S.-based growers, but beyond that, you're helping independently owned, family farms," says Gayla Hansen, Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association president. "There aren't many agricultural products that come from those types of farms anymore, so Pacific Northwest Christmas trees are very unique in that respect."

The Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association was established in 1955 to protect the interests of local farmers in Oregon and Washington. With membership exceeding 1,000 farms, it has grown to further develop the market for Pacific Northwest-grown trees, educate the public on aspects of the industry, practice environmental stewardship and promote the production of high-quality, marketable trees.