If you live in B.C., you can skip the Christmas tree lot or garden centre, and cut down a tree for free on Crown land - subject to particular rules and restrictions.

"We encourage people to go out and have a good time, but really to be aware of safety," Heather Rice, a forest health officer with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations told the CBC's Daybreak South.

The Christmas Tree Permit can be printed online, or obtained in a Ministry office. Once you have a permit, Rice says it's important to read through the rules carefully.

According to the Ministry's website, here's what you need to know:

You have to be 19 years old and a resident of B.C. to be eligible for a Christmas Tree Permit.

The permit does not apply to people who already have a suitable Christmas tree on their private land.

You must carry your permit with you while cutting down your tree, and you may be asked by a Forest Official to produce it.

In most areas, you can only cut down a tree in designated areas, including: hydro rights-of-way (on Crown land portions only and where Christmas trees aren't already being grown commercially), logging roads (within three metres of the edge of the road) and open range lands.

You cannot cut down a tree on private lands, plantations, research areas, parks, watersheds, juvenile-spaced areas and other areas reserved for special use.

Trees are for personal use only and cannot be re-sold at a profit.

Douglas fir on dry sites make the best Christmas trees. Lodgepole pine, spruce balsam and other species may be designated for cutting if Douglas fir isn't available.

Choose a tree that is the size you want. Cutting the top part of a big tree leaves a fire hazard, and could be a waste of a future tree.

Do not leave lower boles (trunks) and branches of cut trees on the road or in the ditch.

The tree cannot be taken out of province.

Failing to follow the rules could result in fines or prosecution under the Criminal Code of Canada.

To hear more about Christmas tree cutting, click on the audio clip labelled: Cutting a Christmas tree on crown land

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