Governor Gregoire: Washington to Provide U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

For Immediate Release: August 3, 2006

Olympic National Forest tree selected for U.S. Capitol

OLYMPIA � Governor Chris Gregoire today announced that the Olympic National Forest has been selected to provide the 2006 Christmas tree for the United States Capitol. The selected tree in November will travel to community celebrations across Washington before making the journey to Washington, D.C.

�Washington is home to some of the nation�s most spectacular forests and I am proud of the opportunity to share our state�s natural beauty with the rest of the country,� said Governor Chris Gregoire.

U.S. Forest Service personnel from the Olympic National Forest identified candidate trees early in the summer and the final selection of the tree is made by the U.S. Capitol Landscape Architect. The decision will be kept secret until the cutting in early November.

The tree cutting will be followed by a brief ceremony at Olympic National Forest and a road tour through communities across the state before traveling to Washington, D.C. National Van Lines, the primary event sponsor for the Capitol Christmas Tree 2006 project, will transport the tree across the country. The events are being managed by the Olympic National Forest in partnership with Northwest Interpretive Association, a Seattle-based nonprofit that serves northwest public lands.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in December will light the Capital Christmas Tree during a ceremony viewed nationwide. The tree will be located on the west front lawn of Capitol Hill, facing the Washington Monument. It will be decorated with 10,000 LED lights and over 3,000 ornaments handmade by Washington students.

Governor Gregoire has asked First Mike to act as the honorary co-chair of the Washington ornament committee. All students in the state, kindergarten through 12th grade, are invited to participate. Ornaments should depict the theme �A Gift from the Evergreen State.� Each school may choose three student-made ornaments to be donated to the project. Those students will then be entered into a drawing for a free trip to Washington, D.C. to view the tree-lighting ceremony.

In addition to the large tree, 65 smaller trees will be donated by Christmas tree farmers across the state and distributed to Washington, D.C. government office buildings, including Washington�s congressional delegation, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Arboretum.

For more information on the Capitol Christmas Tree 2006 project, please visit http://www.capitolchristmastree2006.org.

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