It’s Colorado tradition for folks to head to mountains and national forests for their Christmas trees around this time of year.
But for some others? Well, they look no further than their own backyard for a tree that — though not a fir tree or even a Charlie Brown tree — is sufficient for hanging ornaments: junipers.
And now, they’re offering one to you, too. The little junipers are cut like a traditional Christmas tree and don’t come with any roots.
Judith Westveer is the assistant director of the Southern Plains Land Trust and a resident steward of the organization’s Heartland Preserve in Bent County. It’s 43,000 acres of shortgrass prairie — home to prairie dogs, bison and other critters.
It’s also home to a phenomenon known as “woody encroachment.”
On the Heartland Preserve, it refers to the junipers that naturally occur on mesas, but are now making their way into the grasslands.
”The grassland is, by nature, an open area without many trees,” Westveer said. “But because we don’t have any natural fires going on anymore, these juniper trees are slowly encroaching, turning grasslands into shrubland.”
Westveer said their goal is to keep the land open as a prairie so that grassland birds and other mammals “have space to roam.”
As a result, they work to remove the invading junipers and, due to the success of last year’s inaugural program, they’re once again offering them as holiday trees.
”Last year we were kind of amazed by the success of it,” Westveer said. “We didn’t expect many people to respond, but we ended up driving multiple times to the Front Range.”
Most people were happy with their junipers, she said, even if they’re not the same as a classic Christmas tree.
“One person called it her Franken-pine,” she said.
Last year, they delivered them to people's homes. This year, to save time and cut down on expenses, you’ll have to meet them. Westveer said they have two locations—one in Colorado Springs and one in Centennial—where people will be able to go pick up their pre-ordered juniper tree.
Westveer recommends putting it in a bucket of water and hanging your favorite ornaments on it.
They’re free—“we cut these juniper trees from the prairie anyway”—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.
Visit the website for the Southern Plains Land Trust to pre-order your tree, or email them at info [at] SPLT.org for more information.
