75 trees harvested for U.S. Capitol

RBC I Last week, the Colorado State Forest Service harvested 75 subalpine fir trees from the Colorado State Forest near Gould to accompany the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. These companion trees will ultimately spend the holidays in U.S. government offices.
CSFS foresters obtained the trees with the help of North Park students from grades 5-8, and transported them to Fort Collins on Oct. 19 to be prepared for their journey to Washington, D.C., in November.
“This was a unique opportunity for us to be able to provide these trees and involve all of the students from the Day in the Woods program,” said Hunter Townsend, State Forest manager. “The students all embraced the opportunity to send a small piece of North Park to the Capitol.”
Earlier this year, the CSFS also provided 5,000 tree “cookies” — 1/2-inch wide cross-sections of small tree trunks — to students around Colorado to be decorated as ornaments to adorn the Capitol Christmas Tree and its companion trees. CSFS foresters and volunteers obtained some of these cookies from bark beetle-killed trees or trees that burned in the High Park Fire area near Fort Collins. The ornaments also will make the journey to the Capitol next month.
This year’s Capitol Christmas Tree is being obtained from National Forest land near Meeker, Colo. To learn more about the Capitol Christmas Tree or track its journey around Colorado and to Washington, go to www.CapitolChristmasTree 2012.com.