National forests nix Christmas tree lottery

The chance to cut your own Christmas tree this year may have improved, so long as you're an early bird and willing to cough up an extra five bucks.

National forest officials said they are doing away with the decades-old lottery that decided who - and who didn't - get to harvest their own tree.

Starting October 10, four of the state's five national forests will participate in a statewide sale of permits on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For years, anyone who wanted to cut their own tree had to submit an application and wait several weeks to learn if their name was drawn. This year, the permits - called "tags" - will be sold at 11 designated Big 5 Sporting Goods stores around the state.

"I think people are going to be happier with it because the tension was palpable during that long season," said Candy Luhrsen, Tonto National Forest program chairwoman. "People had to wait to find out were they drawn, or weren't they drawn? Were their Christmas hopes going to be dashed or fulfilled?"

The cost of a permit will increase for the first time in 35 years from $10 to $15 because prices haven't kept pace with administrative costs over the years, officials said.

Officials said the change will save time and money, allowing them to eliminate the usual mass mailings about the program as well as a cumbersome database that kept track of the applicants.

"The income had not kept up with the expenses," said Paige Rocket, a national forest spokeswoman. "It was just a very old-fashioned, costly, burdensome (process)."

Luhrsen said the new system will greatly shorten the length of time to issue the permits.

"We used to start in July and it would go through the second week in December," she said. "Now we expect this to take about a month."

Officials say the new system will be fairer by guaranteeing permits to people who show up early.

This year, officials will issue only 3,850 tags, 100 less than last year.

Bob Lawson, a district supervisor for Big 5 stores in the East Valley, said he doesn't know how many tagswill be issued to each store, but he expects the program to be popular.

"They say they sell out every year," he said. "So shop early if you want a tree."

National forests participating in the new system are Apache-Sitgreaves, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto.

The Coconino National Forest isn't participating in the sale due to tree deaths caused by the pine bark beetle, but will sell a limited number of tags on its own.

More information

Call the Christmas tree hotline at (602) 225-5258.

Participating Big 5 Sporting Goods stores:

Phoenix: Thomas Road between 40th and 32nd streets, (602) 955-9601

Tatum Boulevard and Cactus Road, (602) 953-0305

Scottsdale: Hayden and Osborn roads, (480) 941-4387

Mesa: Southern Avenue and Gilbert Road, (480) 507-0137