Lake Leelanau Lake Association To Locals: Don't Sink Your Used Christmas Trees In Lake Leelanau

Today marks 18 days since Christmas, which means many Christmas trees are making their way out of local homes. In the midst of that process, the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA) has a message for the community: Don’t let that “final resting place” be a local body of water.

“When I am scuba diving for our Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) control program, I frequently find sunken Christmas trees [in Lake Leelanau],” says Annalise Povolo, director of administration and programs for the LLLA. “I'm not sure I could give you a number, but I find them fairly often.”

The trend became notable enough that LLLA kicked off the New Year with a social media campaign titled “Don’t Sink That Tree,” which implores locals not to dispose of their used Christmas trees in the waters of Lake Leelanau – or any other body of water. According to the LLLA, “woody structures along Lake Leelanau’s shoreline” are often a good thing, because they can provide a “habitat for fish, turtles, frogs, herons and other animals.” The LLLA even encourages “the intentional placement of woody structures in and on the shoreline to restore aquatic habitats” – though such a process requires both a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the right type of “submerged trunks, limbs, branches, roots, and wood fragments.”

Discarded Christmas trees don’t fit the bill.

“Typically, [Christmas trees] are softwoods and break down quickly in the lake, and are too dense for many fish to use as habitat,” the LLLA wrote in the New Year’s Day Facebook post that launched the Don’t Sink That Tree campaign. “Additionally, pesticides applied to Christmas trees, leftover decorations, and anchors used to sink the tree introduce unwanted material into our lake.”

Perhaps the worst sin of submerged Christmas trees? Providing a breeding ground for invasive species.

“The branches from the trees very easily collect EWM and create new infestations,” Povolo tells The Ticker. “Since we cover the EWM with burlap blankets to kill the plant, it is especially problematic because it is much harder to cover when the EWM is growing around a Christmas tree.”

The LLLA has been waging war against EWM since it was first discovered in Lake Leelanau in 2019. The association has made significant progress in recent years – and smothering the plant with burlap has proven to be the most effective tactic. Just last month, the LLLA reported that 2025 had been “one of the most impactful years in our efforts to control EWM,” and that biodegradable burlap barriers “are proving to be highly effective at killing EWM, with only minimal maintenance required on barriers laid in previous years.” 

This month, as part of the “Don’t Sink That Tree” campaign, the LLLA has been sharing recommendations from the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association (MLSA) for other ways to dispose of Christmas trees. Those recommendations include mulching the trees, creating dry brush piles on their properties to provide habitat for land-bound wildlife, or giving the trees to friends or organizations that have chickens or goats.

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) now has a “Trees for Goats” campaign each January, which allows locals to donate pesticide-free Christmas trees to feed its goatherds.