Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte looks on as loggers harvest a 40-foot tall blue spruce to serve as the Capitol Christmas tree. (Provided photo)
In the middle of the last century, Montana produced more than 4 million Christmas trees. The trees came primarily from the northwest corner of the state, earning the town of Eureka the nickname “Christmas Tree Capital of the World,” and they were shipped around the country to spruce up homes for the holidays.
As a commercial industry, Christmas tree harvest has plummeted in Montana in the intervening decades, with just 6,338 cultivated trees cut in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, that number only looks at commercial tree farms, not the number of trees cut from the state’s vast public state and federal lands.
One such tree toppled over on Monday afternoon on a parcel of Department of Natural Resources and Conservation state trust lands southeast of Bozeman while Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte looked on.
At 40 feet tall, the blue spruce tree is likely the tallest Christmas tree harvested in the state this year, and will be on display under the Capitol rotunda in Helena.
“Each year, it’s a special tradition to harvest a Montana tree from public lands and display it in the State Capitol for all to enjoy at Christmas,” Gianforte said in a statement. “Susan and I are looking forward to joining Montanans in Helena next week to light the tree and kick-off this joyful season.”
The Capitol Christmas tree is selected from a different parcel of public land around the state each year. Similarly, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., displays a Christmas tree harvested from a different National Forest each year. A tree from Montana — a 79-foot tall Engelmann Spruce from the Kootenai National Forest — was last selected in 2017.
An active forest management project, contracted through Mike Duffy Logging, on a DNRC Bozeman Unit near Mount Ellis provided ample opportunity to harvest a tree and directly contribute to the forest’s health.
Two trees were selected for the governor’s approval — a fir and a spruce. The fir did not retain its pristine shape when it was chopped down, but the spruce held up much better and was trucked off to its new home in Helena.
The 2024 State Capitol Christmas tree will be decorated in the Capitol next week. The governor and first lady invite Montanans to join them at the Capitol for a tree lighting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m.
The governor encourages Montanans to participate in the unique tradition of harvesting Christmas trees from public lands to benefit forest health and resiliency as well as improve wildlife habitat.
Cutting any trees on state trust land requires a permit from the local DNRC field office. The cost is $10 per tree.
Montanans can also harvest trees from National Forest land with a $5 permit, though some restrictions on height and species apply to trees from federal land.
To find a local DNRC field office to secure a permit to harvest a Christmas tree, see here. To obtain a permit from the Forest Service, visit recreation.gov