Rend Lake Habitat Project: Crews sink 875 Christmas trees for fish; holiday waste aids ecosystem

Thousands of Christmas trees are discarded every year once the festive season ends, but in southern Illinois, hundreds of them have found a second purpose beneath the water. A conservation project at Rend Lake has given 875 used trees a new lease of life, turning them into underwater shelters designed to support fish populations and improve aquatic habitats.

The initiative, reported by KFVS12 and Illinois Department of Natural Resources, brought together fisheries biologists from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), staff from the US Army Corps of Engineers and volunteers from the Sesser-Valier Outdoorsmen Club. The trees were donated by local businesses after Christmas and transported to designated locations near the South Sandusky Boat Ramp, where they were prepared before being submerged.