Pay your fee, chop a tree, thin the forest.

Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard

For some Eugene-Springfield residents, it's nearing time to rev up the ol' tree-hunting rig and head for national forest land.

Area forests issue $5 orange tags that Christmas tree hunters are required to affix to the butt end of the sawed tree upon harvest.

Limit: five per family.

And new this year, for hunters who feel vaguely guilty about killing a tree for transitory holiday enjoyment, there's salve for your conscience.

Forest Service rules require that you harvest a tree that's within 8 feet of another tree, meaning your Christmas tree harvest will help thin the forest. Even environmentalists approve.

"It's fantastic," said James Johnston, director of the Cascadia Wildlands Project. "The Willamette National Forest has a lot of young forest stands that need to be thinned."

Wild tree hunting, however, isn't for Martha Stewart-caliber decorators, the Forest Service warns.

"People who prefer wild trees to cultured ones may have to lower their standard about what consists of a `perfect' tree. Some may even end their outing without success," the agency counsels in a news release.

But those who stalk the wild Christmas tree say patience will be rewarded.

The roughly 8,900 Christmas tree hunters in the Willamette forest each year drive narrow logging roads, spying tender-aged stands of green.

Upon seeing a likely suspect, they throw their vehicle into park and trudge over the uneven ground, often to see the tree is too big or misshapen when they draw near.

Those who want a noble fir climb high in the hills - above 3,000 feet - and risk being mired in snow just to bring home a fine specimen.

Steve Harbick, owner of the McKenzie Bridge General Store, said his family has always found a suitable tree in the Willamette, but some years it's been near dark before they settled on one.

The task is complicated when one spouse proves far fussier than the other. Wild trees by nature are scraggly.

"I'm married, so my wife has to OK the tree," Harbick said. "Me, I'm just happy with a Charlie Brown tree."

Jasper Store owner Jennifer Haddock said it's all a matter of perspective.

"A couple of times we had to get a corner model - you know, one with no limbs in the back," she said.

"I've never met or seen too many things in my life that are perfect. Why should a Christmas tree be?"

TREE HUNT

The Willamette National Forest provides these tips:

License: Get the $5 per tree license at country stores at Lowell, Oakridge, Jasper, McKenzie Bridge, Blue River, Vida, Leaburg and Cedar Flats, or at forest service offices and ranger stations. Permits are also available in the Umpqua and Siuslaw national forests.

Equipment: Handsaw or ax, winter clothing, tire chains, shovel, extra food, drinking water, blankets, flashlight, first-aid kit and survival gear.

Location: A color map that comes with the permit will show you the harvest areas.

Species: Douglas fir, white fir, noble fir, true fir and lodgepole pine.

Rules: Take an entire tree under 12 feet tall; don't take off the top of a larger tree; don't cut within campgrounds, administrative sites or privately owned lands; attach the permit immediately after cutting; do not discard a tree if you find a more desirable one.