National Christmas tree stopping in Harlem

Press release

While en route to Washington, D.C., from Montana, the national Christmas tree will be making a stop on the Hi-Line.

Every year, a different National Forest is selected to provide a tree to appear on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the Christmas season.

The Kootenai National Forest in partnership with nonprofit Choose Outdoors will bring this special gift from Montana to Washington, D.C., for the 2017 season, involving more than 15 communities along the way, including Harlem Nov. 17.

The tree will be cut Wednesday, Nov. 8, and prepared for the more than 3,000-mile expedition, which includes a series of community celebrations and culminates with the official tree lighting in early December. The tree will make special appearances at whistle stops including:

• Monday, Nov. 13: Eureka

• Tuesday, Nov. 14: Libby; Troy; and Trout Creek

• Wednesday, Nov. 15: Thompson Falls; and Missoula

• Thursday, Nov. 16: Helena; and Great Falls

• Friday, Nov. 17: Harlem (Fort Belknap); and Glasgow

• Saturday, Nov. 18: Glendive; and Dickinson, North Dakota

• Sunday, Nov 19: Grand Forks, North Dakota; and Browns Valley, South Dakota

• Monday, Nov 20: Kansas City, Missouri

• Tuesday, Nov. 21: Springfield, Missouri

• Wednesday, Nov. 22: Poplar Bluff, Missouri; and Paducah, Kentucky

• Sunday, Nov. 26: Joint Base Andrews

• Monday, Nov. 27: Deliver to U.S. Capitol

After arriving in Washington, D.C., the tree lighting will occur in early December as determined by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

This is the second U.S. Capitol Christmas tree to come from the Kootenai National Forest. With all of the wildfires burning on the Kootenai National Forest this summer, the 2017 Capitol Christmas Tree and back-up tree have not been affected. The initiative is made possible thanks to companies large and small as well as volunteers locally and across America, who provide vital support of time and resources, including Skybitz, Kenworth, Whitewood Transport, Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater, Hale Trailers, Alaska Airlines, Montana Crane Service, Meritor, Truckload Carriers Association, Sky Snap, ABC FOX Montana, National Forest Foundation, National Automobile Dealers Association, and Permit Wizard.

For tour information, event details, news and updates, and to track the tree cross-country, visit http://www.capitolchristmastree.com or http://www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai.

About the Kootenai National Forest

The Kootenai National Forest is in the extreme Northwest corner of Montana and Northeast Idaho and encompasses more than 2.2 million acres, an area nearly three times the size of Rhode Island. The Forest is bordered on the north by British Columbia, Canada, and on the west by Idaho. Ranges of high craggy peaks mark the Forest with Snowshoe Peak in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness at 8,738 feet, the highest point. The Whitefish Range, Purcell Mountains, Bitterroot Range, Salish Mountains, and Cabinet Mountains are all part of the rugged terrain radiating from the river valleys. The Forest is dominated by two major rivers, the Kootenai and the Clark Fork, along with several smaller rivers and their tributaries. Two hydroelectric dams on the Clark Fork have created the Cabinet Gorge and Noxon reservoirs within the Forest boundary. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/Kootenai.

About the U.S. Forest Service

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land; provides assistance to state and private landowners; and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. For more information, see http://www.fs.fed.us.

——

About Choose Outdoors:

Choose Outdoors works to increase all American’s enjoyment, appreciation and support for outdoor recreation activities that connect them to our public lands. These connections will ensure that our public lands will always be there for future generations to cherish. http://www.chooseoutdoors.org.