St. Louis parks accepting Christmas trees for recycling as new habitat for fish

ST. LOUIS -- Several St. Louis-area parks are accepting used natural Christmas trees to be recycled and used as fish habitat.

Trees can be dropped off at Spanish Lake Park, August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Charles and Cuivre River State Park.

Trees should be free of decorations and left in one piece. Trees can be donated through Jan. 6.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will sink the trees in those parks' lakes to create fish habitat.

Fisheries Management biologist Kevin Meneau said fish take shelter in the trees. He says the trees can boost fish populations and help fish including largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and crappie.

Because fish gather by the sunken trees, anglers who identify their locations before they completely sink in mid-March can target the fish hotspots.