Tree hunters: How Albertans are spending less time in lots and more time in the backcountry

When Vince Brophy and his family need a Christmas tree, they skip the lots and head out of town.

"It's just more fun," he said. "You get out in the fresh air, the kids love it, it's nice to come out to the country instead of just grabbing a tree really quick in the city."

A lot more people are heading to the country these days as real Christmas trees were harder to come by this year than they used to be.

Supply chain disruptions made moving them around the country difficult, and flooding and fires in B.C. also destroyed much of the supply.

Even IKEA, one of the most popular sellers, scrapped its lot this year, saying it couldn't source enough trees.

That left many people scrambling to find the real thing

"We are getting a lot for people coming and saying they were worried there is a shortage so they came in earlier this year," says Leona Marshall who helped run the 31st Scouts Tree Lot in northwest Calgary.

She says the lot sold out of trees much quicker than usual

The number of people cutting their own trees down is also way up. It's free to do that in Alberta, as long as you have a permit.

The province issued 3,061 permits in November -- far more than a typical month -- but since the pandemic, tree cutting has spiked.

In 2021, 18,000 permits were handed out, roughly 10,000 more than the year before.

Many of those trees are cut in Kananaskis country and one of the popular spots is overseen by the Junior Forest Wardens.

"We have a steady increase, it's becoming more popular," says Timm Watts, who works with the Junior Forest Wardens.

"Last year I noticed a lot more traffic in this whole area for people cutting trees, not just our site, and it could be pandemic related, people want to get out with their kids, it's a safe place to come."

The Junior Forest Wardens also plant around 20,000 trees a year in Alberta to replenish the supply, meaning there will be plenty of trees to choose from if the popularity of tree hunting keeps growing.