Lake Shelbyville is looking for Christmas trees! Yes, you can extend your tree’s life by donating it for Fish Habitat Improvement Day at Lake Shelbyville. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Alliance, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are looking to place discarded trees into Lake Shelbyville to enhance fisheries for years to come.
Donated Christmas trees are bundled together in small groups and submerged in the lake at certain locations that allow the fish to have breeding areas and escape cover.
Trees will be collected in both Shelbyville and Sullivan and the designated collection site in Sullivan is at the Sullivan 66 Gas Station south of Sullivan on Route 32. Trees can be dropped off inside the fenced-in area on the north side of the building, not in the parking lot.
In Shelbyville, the collection site is the Johnstowne Mall on the west side of Shelbyville. Make sure to place trees inside the fenced-in area on the grass at the Northwest corner of the parking area and not in the parking lot itself. No artificial trees will be collected. Real Christmas Trees will be collected until February 12th, 2022.
Make sure to remove the stand, tinsel, ornaments, or anything else you have in the tree. Remove any plastic from the tree and Lake Shelbyville is only accepting Christmas trees at this time, not wreaths or other decorations.
