Colorado State Forest Service provides holiday tree for State Capitol

Gov. John Hickenlooper lit the State Capitol Holiday Tree this past week. The tree is themed the "Gold Star Tree of Honor" to pay tribute to the more than 350 Colorado military service members lost in the global war on terror since Sept. 11, 2001, as well as their families. The Capitol tree was provided for the fourth year in a row by the Colorado State Forest Service Fort Collins District.

Gold Star Families are the survivors of service members who have lost their lives in conflict or in support of certain military operations.

Colorado National Guard soldiers and their families decorated the 27-foot subalpine fir, which was lit in a ceremony in the Capitol’s North Foyer. Boughs trimmed off the tree will be used by the DMVA to craft wreaths for National Guard personnel deployed throughout the world.

Each year, CSFS foresters selectively cut the Capitol Holiday Tree and smaller trees destined for the Colorado State University campus as part of ongoing management efforts to improve forest health on State Trust Land in northern Larimer County.