HEAVY RAINS HALT CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING PROGRAM TO AT EAST BAY PARKS

The runoff from the recent rains has forced the cancellation of an annual post-holiday environmental program in the East Bay.

Christmas trees have been brought to local lakes and recycled as reefs for fish.

The most recent effort to create a tree reef was at Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area in Fremont. Reefs were also created at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley.

“We use unsold Christmas trees that get donated to the park and we create reefs out of the trees,” said Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Parks.

Dumped Christmas trees are a gift for fish and the eco-system. This year, Mother Nature has put the breaks on the East Bay Regional Park’s holiday tradition.

The donation of about 1,000 unsold Christmas trees by East Bay tree vendors, makes THIS possible.

“This year the water level is already so high, we didn’t need to put in reefs and there was very little room to put reefs in,” Sullivan said.

Friday was the perfect day for fishing at Lake Chabot and the reefs that were put in place over the years are one of the reasons why.

“The water’s coming over reefs that we created years ago that have never seen water,” Sullivan added.

Fish are biting now, but it hasn’t always been the case. Last year, the donation of more than 1,000 unsold Christmas trees by East Bay tree vendors, was repurposed as reef.

Underwater video from Del Valle Regional Park shows how the fish quickly took up residence among the newly installed Christmas trees. Making Friday’s catch particularly special for fishermen like D’mitriy Altshuler, who, with patience and a steady hand now has dinner in the bag.

East Bay Regional Park District – The donation of about 1,000 unsold Christmas trees by East Bay tree vendors, makes THIS possible.

“Sometimes you have to wait a long time,” Ted Hua, another fisherman, said. “Sometime you don’t have any fish at all. But the point is to come out, enjoy the day and have fun. That’s what it’s all about. What you’re going see at quarry lakes is the most full it’s been in the last five to six years.”

Like Lake Chabot, reefs have created the perfect environment for habitat. Algae will grow on the tree reefs below, bugs will eat the algae, fish will eat the bugs, bigger fish eat smaller fish, and so on. Tree reefs give everything in the ecosystem what it needs.