Bought a tree cutting permit for $5, only to realize that all the good wild trees have been burned up in the forest fires of recent years.

Ended up going to a mom-and-pop u-cut place for $40.

Still better than $78.87.

I've always assumed that the real tree industry has fallen significantly in the last 2 decades especially, this makes me wonder if that's even remotely true though.

Average price of almost 80$?! In Germany a decent tree is only 50€

Australian here, I can barely imagine paying $80 for a conifer that's still alive let alone one that's been cut down...

It depends on the type. A big Frasier fir will cost a lot more than a standard pine. But yes, a good quality and tall cut tree can be expensive.

I once bought a permit in Colorado to cut a tree in forest service land. a snowstorm picked up as my wife and I were driving out into the mountains. eventually we just pulled over on the road and cut down a good looking tree. a few people stopped and asked if we were ok.

checked GPS data later, and we were on a random backroad miles away from where we were trying to go, and had cut a random tree from someone's backyard. had no idea at the time