AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Yeti and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently partnered to enhance fish habitat at Granger Lake. Yeti accepted more than 160 donated Christmas trees at its flagship store in Austin and TPWD Inland Fisheries biologists and technicians transported the trees to the lake, where they were installed as reefs to provide fish habitat.

“This project not only enhanced fish habitat at Granger Lake, but it helped grow public awareness of the need and benefits to fish and anglers from restoring and enhancing fish habitat in Texas lakes,” said Tim Birdsong, TPWD Inland Fisheries Division Director. “We are incredibly thankful to our partners at Yeti and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the dozens of other partner organizations and volunteers who collaborate with our biologists to deliver over 50 habitat restoration or enhancement projects each year in Texas rivers and lakes.”

Recycled Christmas trees are often used as fish attractors because the small spaces between the limbs provide cover for small prey fish, which attracts larger sport fish like largemouth bass and crappie. Anglers use the locations of these fish attractors to find the best concentrations of sport fish in the lake.

“The trees were installed as part of a large reef that will serve as habitat for fish in Granger Lake in the coming years and as an area for anglers to target,” said Patrick Ireland, TPWD Inland Fisheries Division San Marcos and Austin District Supervisor. “Granger is known for crappie and this reef should benefit both the anglers and the fish at this lake, which otherwise has limited natural fish habitat.”

A fir tree in the water provides immediate habitat for fish, which can begin using it within 15 minutes. Trees are also a natural product that breaks down over up to two years, providing benefits to the ecosystem as they decompose, including food for periphyton and invertebrates that in turn feed fish. The depth of the tree and water temperature are key factors that determine the length of time before breakdown occurs.

GPS marked locations for the fish attractors on Granger Lake will be updated within two weeks. These locations and others in Texas lakes can be found on the TPWD fish attractor location webpage.

“TPWD Inland Fisheries has worked for many years to improve habitat in reservoirs across Texas,” added Ireland. “As reservoirs age, submerged aquatic habitat tends to degrade over the years as submerged timber decomposes. The installation of natural brush, such as Christmas trees, can help mitigate this decline in aquatic habitat.”

Individuals interested in habitat improvement in public bodies of water should coordinate closely with their local district fisheries management office as well as authorities of individual waterbodies.