A 40-foot tall white fir that ushered in the holiday season in downtown Little Rock has gained a new purpose.
Portions of the Christmas tree, originally shipped in from southern Oregon, were placed in Western Hills Lake on the city’s southwest side Jan. 6, according to a statement from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Once adorned with lights and a glass tree-topper, the evergreen had spent about two months on display at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Main Street.
After the holidays came and went, officials were able to collect large sections of brush and transport them to where they will “offer enjoyment to many anglers over the next few years,” the agency said.
Western Hills Lake is part of the commission’s Family and Community Fishing Program, which stocks eating-sized trout and catfish in cities.
The goal of that program is to “make it easier for every Arkansan to wet a line and bring home a healthy supper,” the statement reads.
Coleman said the leftover trees are sunk into nearby lakes as underwater cover in order to attract fish.
The program’s assistant coordinator, Clint Coleman, said it is “a great way to give this tree one more chance to add to the habitat of a natural system.”
Little Rock’s repurposed fir is part of a larger habitat project that allows Arkansas residents to discard of their Christmas trees — so long as they aren't artificial — at drop-off zones throughout the state.