A free Christmas tree? California forest offering tree permits for the first time in 40 years
A free Christmas tree? California forest offering tree permits for the first time in 40 years
The Christmas tree season is a time when millions of trees around the world give birth to thousands of baby saplings.
And in some places, it’s a time when young trees leave the safety of their mother’s nests and venture out on their own.
In some places, such as New York and California, Christmas trees are considered an invasive species by the government and are often removed before they reach the root stock stage.
But in other places, such as Costa Rica, Christmas trees are prized and are sometimes given as gifts.
In fact, there is nothing stopping people from putting up a free Christmas tree in the woods – or at least in the local forest.
That is, provided they follow the rules, of course. And that is exactly what this young man is doing in the small town of Escorihuela in northern Costa Rica.
For the past three years, Antonio Bautista has been the owner of a small tree farm he purchased without government permission after neighbors complained about the noise and smoke of his operation.
In 2017, Bautista was fined $500 and ordered to pay $20,000 for failing to obtain permission.
A lot of people have asked the question – why is this young farm owner doing this, why does he feel he must protect private property?
The answer is simple – to show the community that he is taking care of it, that he cares – and that he is taking his tree-cutting to the next level.
To show that his tree farm is part of a larger effort to save a threatened species from extinction in the region which is known as the High Andes.
Bautista’s tree farm is just one of many that are also being offered this Christmas by Costa Rica’s Department of Forests and Lands.
This year, permits will be issued to
