Recycling of trees will benefit local fishing

Chuck Bolen, a Sikeston Parks Department and Public Works employee, sets up the Christmas tree dropoff site behind the Chamber of Commerce building in Sikeston with leftover trees donated by area retailers. Residents who use real trees are encouraged to drop off their trees at the conservation site through Jan. 7. The trees are used for fish shelters in city lakes and at Lake Wappapello. Michelle Felter, Staff

SIKESTON -- Those who decorate with real Christmas trees during the holiday season also have a valuable conservation asset that can have a positive impact well beyond the season.

By recycling a real Christmas treat through the annual Ch­ristmas tree collection program, area residents can improve fish habitat in the city's lakes in the Recreation Complex and R.S. Matthews Park. It also benefits the Corps of Engineers' Lake Wappapello, and will ultimately improve the fishing in those lakes.

The city of Sikeston Park Division, with assistance from Pullen Brothers Inc., is collecting real Christmas trees again this year for use as fish shelters at the sites. It will begin Christmas Day and continue through Jan. 7. Residents may take their real Christmas trees to the designated collection site on Airport Drive, behind the Chamber of Commerce building.

On Jan. 8, employees of the Park Division will load a portion of the trees on a trailer provided by Pullen Brothers for transport to Lake Wappapello. The remaining trees will then be taken to the city's two lakes in the Recreation Complex and R.S. Matthews Park, where they will be bundled into small groups to be submerged in the lakes for the fish shelters.

Jiggs Moore, director of the Parks Division, said last year's response was down, resulting in the lowest number of trees being collected since the program began. He encouraged residents to continue support of the conservation effort to improve fishing conditions in area lakes.

The program not only affords people an opportunity to dispose of the trees in an ecologically sound manner, but also to enhance fishing opportunities for fishermen at local lakes. The shelters created by the submerged bundles of Christmas trees provide fish with breeding areas and resting places and also provide young fish safe living space where they can feed without being preyed upon by larger fish. The protective environment gives fish a better chance to grow to maturity and provide a good fishing experience for anglers. New trees are added to selected shelters each year to maintain their usefulness as cover.

For more information, contact Moore at 475-3725.