SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Carlyle and Rend lakes wants you to bring them your live Christmas trees so they can bundle them together to create underwater fish structures.

Officials say by bundling the trees and weighting them down in the water, they will serve a variety of purposes such as providing feeding areas for fish of all sizes and a safe refuge for small fish and provide excellent fishing spots for anglers.

Trees can be donated through January 30, at Plant Land on Old Route 50 east of Breese, Keyesport Boat Ramp, and Litle Prarie Nature Trail parking lot in the West Spillway at Carlyle Lake.

For Rend Lake, you can bring your trees now through Jan. 18 to the Sugar Creek parking lot, Dam West boat ramp or the Jackie Branch boat ramp at Rend Lake.

Mt. Vernon residents can drop off trees until Jan. 8 at the Veterans Park women’s softball field, Optimist Park or Airport Park.

Marion residents can drop trees off at the Goofy Golf parking lot at Ray Fosse Park or at the northernmost picnic shelter at Pyramid Park until Jan. 18.

For more information, call the Carlyle Lake/Kaskaskia Navigation Project Office at 594-2484 or the Rend Lake Project Office at 724-2493.