Capitol Architect staff assesses 4 of 7 national Christmas tree nominees

It wasn’t Christmas in July, but close — a trio from the nation’s Office of the Capitol Architect went traipsing about the Kootenai National Forest near Eureka on Wednesday to assess four of the seven trees nominated to be this year’s Capitol Christmas tree.

“We’re feeling really good about our chance,” Forest Service Ranger Bryan Donner said at the weekly meeting of the Lincoln County Commission. “We’ll be on pins and needles until September” when the choice is made.

One of the other three trees nominated for the honor is in Sanders County, while the other two are in the Yaak.

Kootenai National Forest officials were notified last October that the tree would be selected from these parts for the second time since the tradition began in 1970. The first time was in 1989, when the nation’s Christmas tree — it’s come to be called “The People’s Tree” — was sourced from the Pipe Creek area north of Libby.

Donner said the chosen tree would either be a spruce, a Douglas fir or a true fir. After it’s chosen in September, the Forest Service will provide round-the-clock protection for about two weeks until it’s cut down for its long trip east.

About 70 additional, smaller trees will also be cut from Montana forests to serve as Christmas trees at other locations in Washington, D.C., Donner said.