Any West Coast scrappers also Christmas tree seed forgers??

A friend of mine sent me this article. I guess I had heard about seed forgerers in the woods but this reminded me of it. Sounds like the harvesting of the noble fir cones is quite an effort. Just wondering if any scrappers out in the Pac NW also forge for fir tree seeds that end up as Xmas trees for extra $$? People in other leading Christmas tree regions may also seed forge but this article was centered on Oregon.

Your Christmas tree has lived through one hell of an adventure

On a similar but slightly different topic, any scrappers also collect and sell Sugar pine (Sierra Nevedas) or Long-leaf pine (Southeast Plains) cones? Both of these species produce very large cones and they go for good money a piece on ebay or other outlets. Because most of the Sugar pine territory is within national forests, I don't know if the USFS has a policy on cone collection or not and/or if people just ignore them. It would be intesting to know from someone who collects sugar pine cones.

Another sellable product from Long-leaf pine is "pine straw" of the old dropped long needles. Craft people use them to make things like baskets, etc. I've seen poundage of this item also sold on ebay...

Wow, big business!

Some people around here do get permission from the government to prune wild trees on "Crown Land" (most forest land in Canada is Gov't owned) and sell them for Christmas trees. I think they are offered up by the government as "Christmas tree woodlots", and probably because they don't contain any trees worth logging for lumber or even for fenceposts/rails. Not anywhere near the scale of what your article is talking about.

I think those trees are pruned a little during the year to encourage denser branch growth than normal. By the time you get them they are so thick a mouse can't get into the heavy foliage.

I guess I've been using "charlie brown" trees all my life...wild grown and 6 branches total on it. When I was younger and Christmas was more important, Dad and I would drill holes in the trunk and stuff more branches into a tree to make it bushier. My kids and I did it a few times, too. Worked and looked great!!

But wherever there's a demand, there are people willing to fill it!!! Wow.

Thanks for the link.

Jon.