Instead of letting your Christmas tree take up space in a
landfill this year, state natural resources officials suggest
giving it a second life by putting it to good use for fish or
wildlife. In rural areas, discarded Christmas trees can be put
to good use as erosion control or as brush piles to provide
resting and escape cover for small animals. In addition to
benefiting small game such as quail and rabbits, brush piles
constructed of Christmas trees can help birds such as sparrows,
towhees and wrens. “We’re getting to the time of year when the
leaves have dropped and the landscape is more open. However,
cover is still a vital part of a healthy wildlife habitat,” said
Tammy Wactor, wildlife biologist with the S.C. Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) based in Clemson. “Although the needles
of old Christmas trees will brown and fall off in two or three
months, if you get enough trees piled up they will make pretty
good cover.” Brush piles are usually mound or teepee shaped,
Wactor said, with the largest mate