Black Hawk Helicopters Drop Christmas Trees into Louisiana Marshes

New Orleans, LA (KPEL News) -  For dozens of years, Louisiana residents have been encouraged to leave their live Christmas trees at the roadside so, after they've served their merry purpose, they can be used to help shore up Louisiana's coast and marshland. Most folks fulfill the request, but how do the trees make it out into the areas they are most needed? Black hawk helicopters are just part of the process.

The Louisiana National Guard helps with the project, called the annual Christmas Tree Drop, and offered a peek into the process of dropping the Christmas trees into their forever home. The trees must be free of flocking and any ornaments, including tinsel.

A National Guard regiment, working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, completed one of the tasks this month in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge near New Orleans.

Much of the area they concentrate on is in southeast Louisiana because it's so low-lying. They also focus on other areas experiencing coastal erosion and barrier islands. According to the Louisiana National Guard, the Christmas Tree Drop initiative has restored the equivalent of 200 football fields worth of marshland in southeast Louisiana.

This year alone, they placed about 8,000 trees donated by New Orleans residents in Bayou Sauvage. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful for the support of the Louisiana National Guard, otherwise, they would have been putting the trees in place manually.

On the flip side, the national guard is able to use the mission as a training exercise for soldiers. They learn to work in a controlled setting, allowing flight crews to hone their skills.

Everyone involved wins, and the trees are essentially recycled. Pon Dixon, project leader for the Bayou Sauvage NWR says,

The trees are doing what their designed to do. The project is a benefit for everyone.

A Louisiana National Guard Black Hawk helicopter lowers bundles of recycled Christmas trees into the area. Once placed, the trees create a wave break to trap sediment and promote the growth of native marsh grasses to prevent erosion.

Soldiers on the ground unhook the bundle, preparing the trees for placement in the marsh.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents wait for the trees so they can make sure they are properly placed. The trees help slow coastal erosion and provide habitats in the urban wildlife refuge.

In other areas of Louisiana, the Christmas tree placement looks different because the needs are different.