News Release

JUNEAU — A beautiful Sitka spruce from the Wrangell Ranger District on the Tongass National Forest has been selected to represent Alaska as the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

The tree will symbolize Alaskans’ connection to the lands they call home, as well as the special relationships between the forests and tribal communities, partners and sponsors that have come together to send this unique holiday gift to the U.S. Capitol.

The tree was selected by Director of the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum for the Architect of the Capitol Jim Kaufmann and is one of eight candidate trees that he viewed on the forest recently.

“Trees on the Tongass National Forest are big and they’re awesome, but the tree selected to adorn the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol has to be a perfect tree,” said Kaufmann. “The rainforest provides a perfect growth environment that gave us so many great candidate trees to select from, and in the end, I know we found the perfect Sitka spruce to represent Alaska and its National Forests.”

The Capitol Christmas Tree project is led by the Forest Service’s Alaska Region, which features the Tongass and Chugach National Forests. This is the first time the Tongass is providing the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

“It’s a great privilege for The People’s Tree to be coming from the Tongass this year,” said Tongass National Forest Supervisor Frank Sherman. “Our staff are excited to be a part of this historic undertaking and the Community of Wrangell is an amazing partner. We can’t wait to bring this beautiful tree to American across the country and teach them about the unique wonders of Alaska’s National Forests.”

The tree will be harvested in late October and packaged on a custom 82-foot trailer. After a sendoff celebration in Wrangell, its first stop will be Ketchikan, before being transported to Seattle by barge. From Seattle, it will begin a coast-to-coast Whistlestop Tour visiting communities across the country to share the story of The People’s Tree from Alaska’s National Forests.

Once the tree arrives in Washington D.C. and is delivered to the Capitol, the Architect of the Capitol team will decorate the tree with thousands of handcrafted ornaments made by Alaskans across the state. The tree will be lit in early December during a public ceremony hosted by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sitka spruce is native to Alaska and can be found in the rainforest of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, as well as across the geographically diverse Chugach National Forest, over 750 miles to the northwest. As the largest spruce species in the world and the third largest of all trees, it’s only appropriate that it is the official tree of Alaska, a state with its own grandiose stature. The location of the selected tree will remain a secret until the harvest.

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree initiative is a 54-year tradition in which one of America’s 154 national forests provides a tree for the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the holiday season. The project is made possible with support from partners including nonprofit Society of American Foresters and Alaska Geographic, cash and in-kind contributions from small businesses and large corporations, as well as volunteers throughout Alaska and across the United States.

Learn more and follow the journey of the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree on the website.