Recycled Christmas Trees In New Orleans Protect Wildlife And Residents

Helicopters are dropping thousands of Christmas trees into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge to protect marsh land from severe weather.

This is the time of year when many people in the southern U.S. make preparations for hurricane season, but it's also the time of year when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service near New Orleans turns their eye to protecting marsh land from storms. Black Hawk helicopters are dropping bundles of Christmas trees into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans – about 15 minutes from the heart of downtown. "All of this was open water just like you see out in front of us," Pon Dixon of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. "So here we are about 20 years later and you see all the vegetation that has grown."