The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says there are many ways to dispose of your Christmas tree, and putting it in a lake is not one of them.

DNR spokesman Phil Bloom says many people have banded trees together and shoved them out onto a frozen lake to make a fish habitat after it thaws.

Bloom says that may not help fish and you need a permit to add a fish habitat to a public lake.

Bloom says better options include taking the tree to a designated Christmas tree recycling site, keeping it in your yard for birds, or running it through a wood chipper for mulch.