December 14, 2007

EVANS, Ga.---You can recycle your live Christmas tree to be used as fish attractors in Thurmond Lake.

The US Army Corps of Engineers at Thurmond Lake will accept real Christmas trees beginning Dec. 21 through Jan. 8, 2008. The Christmas trees can be dropped off at Riverside Middle School on Fury's Ferry Road.

The recycled trees will be used as fish attractors in Thurmond Lake. Corps rangers and volunteers will place submerged trees around fishing piers to improve fishing habitat. Additional trees will be delivered to selected ramps around the lake to be used by fishermen who wish to sink their own fish attractors.

Anyone wishing to obtain a list of locations where the trees will be available can contact the Thurmond Lake office at 1-800-533-3478 after January 15.

All decorations, including tinsel, lights, ornaments, bulbs, and garlands must be removed from the trees before they are dropped off at the recycle location. No household trash should be dumped at this site.

Small trees and brush provide cover for fish, particularly as nursery areas for juvenile fish. In addition, they provide habitat for aquatic insects, essentially food during the early states of development for most fish species.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Ken Boyd or Jay Weidman at the Thurmond Lake Project Office at 1-800-533-3478.