RI Agency Collects 350 Christmas Trees For River Restoration

EXETER, RI — Hundreds of Rhode Islanders ended the holiday season by donating their trees to help the state's river ecosystems. This year's Trees For Trout program by the state's Department of Environmental Management collected an impressive 350 discarded trees over the past two weeks.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to drop off their tree these past two weekends!" the department wrote on Facebook. Trees were collected at the Arcadia Check Station Jan 2 and 9.

The department collected nearly 100 more trees this year than in 2020. Over this summer, the trees will be placed along riverbanks in the state, where they will be used to help reduce erosion, offer refuge habitats and stabilize stream banks.