HARRISBURG – The Shawnee National Forest is offering a free Christmas tree permit for fourth graders as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s Every Kid Outdoors program. Tree permits are available online now through recreation.gov.

To obtain a free Christmas tree permit from the Shawnee National Forest, the fourth grader must have a valid paper voucher or pass obtained from the website or participating federal agency.

In addition to free Christmas tree permits, all fourth graders are eligible for a pass that allows free access to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and water sites across the country. Instructions on how fourth graders can obtain an Every Kid Outdoors pass or voucher are available at everykidoutdoors.gov. Fourth graders can also visit any of the Shawnee National Forest’s district offices or Supervisor’s Office to get a hard pass after printing the voucher off the program’s website.

Every Kid Outdoors is part of an interagency call to action to build the next generation of conservationists and encourage children and their families to spend more time outdoors. The national program emphasizes recreation and conservation on national forests and grasslands. The website also provides teachers educational activity guides related to land stewardship and environmental science.

Today, kids are spending more hours than ever in front of screens instead of outside. The Every Kid Outdoors program offers fourth graders valuable opportunities to explore, learn, and play in our spectacular public lands and aims to inspire stewardship of these places for future generations.

Every Kid Outdoors is a federal interagency effort that includes the Forest Service and six other federal agencies: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Shawnee National Forest Christmas tree permits are available to purchase online between Nov. 14 and Dec. 31, 2023, and permits one Eastern Red Cedar tree to be cut. To purchase a Christmas tree permit, visit www.recreation.gov/tree-permits/shawnee. You will need to set up or login to a Recreation.gov account to complete the transaction. Christmas Tree Permits cost $5 (one permit allowed per household), plus a $2.50 online transaction fee.