Montana Is Missing From an Interesting ‘Christmas List’

Last weekend was the ideal time to get a Christmas tree if you planned on getting a live one. For people in western Montana, it may not have been that ideal this year because of the snow that showed up Saturday night.

Many Montanans are known for getting a permit to cut down their Christmas tree. It's been a tradition of my in-laws for years now. This particular practice may be why Montana is missing from a "Christmas List" of sorts.

The States That Produce The Most Christmas Trees

A report from 24/7 Wall Street has compiled information about which states grow the most Christmas trees. They say that every state grows Christmas trees, but some grow more than others. I would have thought Montana would be on a list like this but it doesn't.

The top states for growing Christmas trees are:

1. Oregon
2. North Carolina
3. Michigan
4. Pennsylvania
5. Wisconsin

Their list includes the 29 states that produce the most Christmas trees, and Montana isn't anywhere on the list.

Montana Does Appear to Have Tree Farms

Montana does have tree farms--over 600 according to the Montana Tree Farm Program which is part of the American Tree Farm System. The MTFP's work benefits "non-industrial private forest owners, community forests, professional foresters, forest industry representatives, and staff from state and federal agencies." They also note that almost one-quarter of Montana's land is forested non-industrial private land.

So it may be that because of the way Montana is forested there are fewer opportunities for commercial Christmas tree growing.

But as one friend told me, if you've ever gotten your car stuck in a snow drift on a mountain while trying to cut down your Christmas tree, spending $50 for a tree from a parking lot doesn't seem half bad.