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SALT LAKE CITY — Still looking to buy a permit for a Christmas tree on Bureau of Land Management land? There's now a website for that.
The federal land agency announced Friday that it has launched a new website. It allows anyone to bypass the need to contact or visit a BLM field office in Utah for one. People have the option to purchase permits from the website in nearly all western U.S. states, aside from Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Colby Peterson, BLM Utah's acting forestry program lead, said the new pilot program was originally only for BLM land within the Cedar City, Salt Lake and Vernal field offices, but the agency figured out a way to expand it to nearly all the remaining field offices in the state.
All anyone has to do is visit the website, complete the purchase after they answer a few questions and then print their permit. Permits for trees on BLM land in Utah typically costs $10 per tree.
Agency officials said online permits for trees on Paria River District land isn't available at the moment. It's expected to be added soon. They also said permits on Salt Lake City field office land are already sold out for the 2020 year.
"Harvesting a tree is a great way for families to experience public lands and build on time-honored holiday traditions," said Paul Briggs, acting BLM Color Country District Manager, in a statement. "With the new online system, you can now get your permit from home."
People can also purchase fuelwood permits online for land within the Cedar City, Salt Lake and Vernal field offices.
The new format almost mirrors a website the U.S. Forest Service began using this year. USFS officials said they switched primarily to it this year to make it easier for people to get a permit on its land without any face-to-face contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic. More information about 2020 Christmas trees can be found here.
