Your Christmas tree can help … fish?
Fishermen may get a belated holiday present if they donate their Christmas trees to the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.
Crews will collect non-decorated natural trees Jan. 12 at Pratt's Wayne Woods Forest Preserve to convert into fish habitats in a new lake created in 2006.
"When we start stocking, small fish will have a place to hide and hang out," said Don LaBrose, a forest preserve fisheries biologist. "One of the fish we'll be stocking is a yellow perch. When they spawn, they have a long line of eggs they need to attach to something. Christmas trees are a great structure to attach to."
This is the first time the district has put out a call for Christmas trees in about a decade, spokeswoman Bonnie Olszewski said. The district will accept only trees without tinsel or ornaments.
LaBrose and a group of workers will collect the trees from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 12 at the preserve near Wayne. Volunteer teams will place them on the frozen lake two weeks later. Once the ice thaws, the trees will sink to the bottom with the help of cinder blocks to weigh them down.
"We're going to establish some of these fish cribs close to the shoreline for the fishermen, but some will be out of reach, farther out in the lake," he said. "We need about 40 to do it right."
Anglers will benefit from the proximity of the artificial reefs because big fish like to hang out around them to hunt for smaller fish and other aquatic life, LaBrose said.
Besides the benefits of sanctuary and hunting grounds, the trees eventually will act as nutrients when they decompose in the 20-acre lake that was created from a gravel quarry. Those nutrients will help encourage growth of other plants that become food and shelter for critters.
Other items, including old wood shipping pallets, will be tied to the trees as well to help create the fish cribs and artificial reefs.
The forest preserve manages 30 lakes throughout the county, Olszewski said.
The Christmas tree drop-off site is located off Stearns Road, just east of the railroad tracks. For details, call (630) 933-7668.