{"id":24714,"date":"2024-11-22T17:33:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T00:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/some-head-to-the-mountains-for-christmas-trees-others-let-the-eastern-plains-come-to-them\/"},"modified":"2024-11-23T00:33:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T00:33:23","slug":"some-head-to-the-mountains-for-christmas-trees-others-let-the-eastern-plains-come-to-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/some-head-to-the-mountains-for-christmas-trees-others-let-the-eastern-plains-come-to-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Some head to the mountains for Christmas trees \u2013 others let the Eastern Plains come to them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Adobe
Adobe stock photo<\/span>Adobe stock photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s Colorado tradition for folks to head to the mountains and national forests for their Christmas trees around this time of year.<\/p>\n

But for some others? Well, they look no further than their own backyard for a tree that \u2014 though not a fir tree or even a Charlie Brown tree \u2014 is sufficient for hanging ornaments: junipers.<\/p>\n

And now, they\u2019re offering one to you, too. The little junipers are cut like a traditional Christmas tree and don\u2019t come with any roots.<\/p>\n

Judith Westveer is the assistant director of the Southern Plains Land Trust and a resident steward of the organization\u2019s Heartland Preserve in Bent County. It\u2019s 43,000 acres of shortgrass prairie \u2014 home to prairie dogs, bison and other critters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also home to a phenomenon known as \u201cwoody encroachment.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the Heartland Preserve, it refers to the junipers that naturally occur on mesas, but are now making their way into the grasslands.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe grassland is, by nature, an open area without many trees,\u201d Westveer said. \u201cBut because we don\u2019t have any natural fires going on anymore, these juniper trees are slowly encroaching, turning grasslands into shrubland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Westveer said their goal is to keep the land open as a prairie so that grassland birds and other mammals \u201chave space to roam.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, they work to remove the invading junipers and, due to the success of last year\u2019s inaugural program, they\u2019re once again offering them as holiday trees.<\/p>\n

\u201dLast year we were kind of amazed by the success of it,\u201d Westveer said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t expect many people to respond, but we ended up driving multiple times to the Front Range.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most people were happy with their junipers, she said, even if they\u2019re not the same as a classic Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person called it her Franken-pine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Last year, they delivered them to people\u2019s homes. This year, to save time and cut down on expenses, you\u2019ll have to meet them. Westveer said they have two locations \u2013 one in Colorado Springs and one in Centennial \u2013 where people will be able to go pick up their pre-ordered juniper tree.<\/p>\n

Westveer recommends putting it in a bucket of water and hanging your favorite ornaments on it.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re free \u2013\u201cwe cut these juniper trees from the prairie anyway\u201d \u2013 but the Southern Plains Land Trust does ask for a donation to help with expenses. Last year, Westveer said they received around $3500 in donations.<\/p>\n

Visit the website for the Southern Plains Land Trust at southernplains.org to pre-order a tree, or email the organization at info@splt.org<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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