In 2024, Texas biologists turned more than 160 donated Christmas trees into an underwater reef at Granger Lake, where fish can use them as habitat within 15 minutes

The Christmas season is around the corner, and the must-have Christmas tree often ends up on the curb once the holidays are over, needles trailing down the driveway. They rarely get a second act. In 2024, more than 160 of them got a second act. None of them were headed for a living room, but a lake. The Christmas trees were dropped off at Yeti’s flagship store in Austin. Biologists and technicians from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries Division hauled the trees to Granger Lake and sank them as a single large reef. The project also involved the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and had a specific purpose: to give the fish somewhere to be!

From Austin to the lake

The logistics were simple. Yeti collected the Christmas trees at the store. TPWD crews moved them to the water. The Army Corps was part of the partnership that made the installation possible. All this was to improve fish habitat at Granger Lake.“This project not only enhanced fish habitat at Granger Lake, but it helped grow public awareness of the need and benefits to fish and anglers from restoring and enhancing fish habitat in Texas lakes. We are incredibly thankful to our partners at Yeti and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the dozens of other partner organisations and volunteers who collaborate with our biologists to deliver over 50 habitat restoration or enhancement projects each year in Texas rivers and lakes,” Tim Birdsong, TPWD Inland Fisheries Division Director, said in a release.Granger has a reputation for crappie. What it lacks, according to Patrick Ireland, the TPWD district supervisor for San Marcos and Austin, is natural fish habitat. And that’s exactly where the Christmas trees have a part to play. These trees can help the fish and the people chasing them.All this depends on how a Christmas tree behaves underwater. Recycled Christmas trees are often used as fish attractors because the small spaces between the limbs provide cover for small prey fish. Where prey gathers, bigger sport fish like largemouth bass and crappie follow. Anglers know this, and that’s why fish attractor locations double as a map to where fish are concentrated.Reservoirs also carry a slower problem. As they age, the submerged timber that once gave fish cover decomposes, and the habitat goes with it.“The trees were installed as part of a large reef that will serve as habitat for fish in Granger Lake in the coming years and as an area for anglers to target. Granger is known for crappie and this reef should benefit both the anglers and the fish at this lake, which otherwise has limited natural fish habitat,” Patrick Ireland said.The fir trees sitting in the water can provide immediate habitat for fish, which they can use almost immediately, in about 15 minutes. Trees are also a natural product that breaks down over up to two years, providing benefits to the ecosystem as they decompose, including food for periphyton and invertebrates that in turn feed fish. The depth of the tree and water temperature are some factors that determine the duration before the breakdown occurs. So the reef works twice. First as shelter, then as a slow meal.“TPWD Inland Fisheries has worked for many years to improve habitat in reservoirs across Texas. As reservoirs age, submerged aquatic habitat tends to degrade over the years as submerged timber decomposes. The installation of natural brush, such as Christmas trees, can help mitigate this decline in aquatic habitat,” Patrick Ireland added.And just like that, Phoebe’s (Buffay) wish was granted. The trees that had no purpose after Christmas got one even after the festive season. They didn’t end up in the shredder. Instead, they became shelter, food and habitat for fish at Granger Lake.