TRAMPAS — A solitary figure wearing no coat with the snow-crowned Jicarita Peak in the distance, Dennis Griego drew near a spruce tree with his chain saw whirring.

His harvesting permit was stuffed into the back pocket of his weathered jeans. Griego, 73, expertly sliced the trunk that stood miles down a rutted Forest Service road. He dismissed the notion of assistance — he has 25 years in this game and honed instincts in Christmas tree appraisal, in testing branches that will bear the jingly weight of ornaments in a living room.

"I look for them like a deer," Griego said, his hair long and his movements assured when standing up the fallen tree to twirl it. "It's only once a year, bro. My saw is starting to be a little bit tricky."

New Mexico, a state awash in public lands, is home to a

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