Search for 2025 Capitol Christmas Tree Narrows to Ten Finalists

We're narrowing the search for the 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.  We know that, for the first time, it’s coming from the great state of Nevada.  We just don’t know exactly where yet.

"We've got great-looking tree candidates in the Spring Mountains in Las Vegas, as well as the Reno/Carson City area of Northern Nevada," said Project Lead Duncan Leao.  "There are big, beautiful trees varying anywhere from 60 to 80 feet tall with as near perfect crown as you can get, that beautiful Christmas tree that you picture around the holidays."

The Architect of the Capitol, the caretaker of our nations Capitol Grounds, will make the final decision.  And he's getting a sneak peak of the top ten finalists using laser imaging technology known as LiDAR.

"LiDAR is Light Detection and Ranging, and it’s a laser beam that shoots and creates a point in space," said Eli Jensen,  forest technology and innovation consultant for Ironwood Forestry.  "And if you create enough of those points, it starts to form a picture called a point cloud."

Arizona-based Ironwood Forestry is making 3D models of all the candidate trees.

"We have a backpack LiDAR scanner takes anywhere from 500,000 to 2 million points per second," Jensen said.   "It's on a rotating gimbal and it spins so it's getting points 360 degrees.  We're doing this because initially, the Architect of the Capitol needs to be able to get a good look at these trees, check them out beforehand, get the vantage points he can’t get from the ground; maybe there’s a gap in the canopy he can’t see from the ground, maybe it’s on a steep slope.”

"These 3D models allow us to look at the tree quality and the overall health of the tree as well," Leao said.

The Architect of the Capitol's Office will visit all ten trees in person this summer.

"They'll chose a primary tree and a backup tree in the event that something happens," Leao said.  "And that really sets the stage for us to plan our logistics around a harvest."

The chosen tree will make its way to Washington, D.C. this holiday season, bringing the spirit of the Silver State to the West Lawn of the Capitol  Building.  There's still plenty of time to decorate an ornament for the tree – we need 10,000 of them by September 15th!  Head to our website for more information on how to get involved.

www.uscapitolchristmastree.com