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Capital dignitary pays brief visit to Port of Entry

Information provided by Pat Carr
D3 POE Area Supervisor
A national celebrity, the focus of attention in the nation’s capital the next month, made a brief visit to Idaho recently, although no one got a good look at the guest. It remained obscured in a carefully wrapped enclosure.

The Capitol Christmas Tree, which was selected from the state of Washington, stopped at Idaho's East Boise Port of Entry on its way to Washington, D.C. where it will be decorated and lighted and will welcome guests throughout the holiday season.

The transporters needed a secure area large enough to park the 105-foot combination truck and trailer overnight.

The tree left Seattle at approximately 11 a.m. on November 17th and arrived at the port at 9 p.m. Port Inspectors worked a graveyard shift to ensure the security of the Capitol Christmas tree. The truck-trailer combination and its protected cargo departed the port at 8:45 the following morning as it continued the transcontinental journey.

The U.S. Forest Service officer who was assigned to accompany the tree since October, called it was "the perfect tree." The selection process to identify a capital Christmas tree in its native environment can take up to six months.

The Forest Service first selects the forest then searches for the "perfect" tree, carefully harvests it, secures it for transport to Washington, D.C. and ensures that it arrives safely and in good condition. The Forest Service officer expected to remain with the tree through the middle of this month.

He will remain with the tree and will not return home until mid-December.