Each year, since 1970, a national forest has been selected to provide a Christmas tree for the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. For 2022, the USDA officials chose a 78-foot-tall red spruce from the National Forest of North Carolina for the honor. The nearly eight-story-tall wonder of the forest has since been named Ruby.
But the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree also goes by another name.
“We call it the People’s Tree because it is a gift from the people’s public lands to the U.S. Capitol Building – the people’s house – where it stands for all to see,” the USDA’s Adrianne Rubiaco reported. “The Christmas Tree serves as a reminder of the majestic forests, grassy meadows, awesome expanses of grasslands, ancient wind-swept deserts, and the diverse landscapes in between that are for all Americans to use and enjoy.”
Located in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, choosing Ruby was no easy task.
A team of biologists, silviculturists, forestry technicians and arborists dedicated months of time to searching the forest for the perfect tree. Now that it’s been picked and cut, the massive tree is on its way to D.C. To follow the tree’s journey, check out @uscapitolchristmastree on Facebook and Instagram.
As part of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree program, the Forest Service is partnering with the National Forest Foundation to raise funds for a new nursery to grow red spruce seedlings.
“We are very excited to partner with the U.S. Forest Service and Southern Highlands Reserve on efforts to restore these unique, high-elevation, spruce-fir forests of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia,” Mark Shelley, director of eastern programs for the National Forest Foundation, told Rubiaco. “We are actively working to create a supply of trees to meet these restoration goals.”
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