Destined for DC: Our Nevada spirit shines on Silver Belle — PHOTOS

This year, for the first time in our nation’s history, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will come from Nevada.

The chosen tree, named Silver Belle, a 50-year-old, 53-foot red fir (Abies magnifica), from the Carson Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, was selected by a team led by the U.S. Forest Service and Jim Kaufmann, Executive Director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum at the Architect of the Capitol.

Preparation and planning

With the tree selection in place, a three-month preparation period led up to the harvest, involving a catalog of logistical considerations.

“Between the selection and the harvest, we’re looking at about three months of needing to check off a lot of boxes,” Duncan Leao, 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Project Lead with the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, told the Pahrump Valley Times. “What we need to do is confirm how we’ll do the harvest — whether it requires any special access needs; if we need to do road maintenance for those areas, or acquire operators, crane service or other specialized equipment.”

Ensuring access for that specific equipment was paramount. “The biggest consideration is road access to the tree using a 100-foot truck-trailer and a truck-mounted crane,” explained Cheva Gabor, Nevada Liaison for the U.S. Forest Service.

Partnerships

For the past two years, the U.S. Forest Service joined nonprofit partner the Society of American Foresters to identify monetary and in-kind sponsors to aid in the harvest and transportation.

For a consecutive third year, Presenting Sponsor 84 Lumber contributed $100,000 in financial support, minimizing the cost of the project to taxpayers.

With extensive, combined financial support, the essential equipment and services, including crane service and supplies, were secured and supplied in anticipation of the tree’s harvest in late October.

A Kenworth Truck Company’s T680 truck attached to a Hale trailer collaborate to provide the rigging that Knight-Swift Transportation will haul securely across the U.S. toward its final destination on the Capitol’s West Lawn.

Sierra Forever will facilitate the running of Forest Service visitor centers and offer merchandise at the whistle stops along the transportation route.

The harvest

The careful and meticulous harvest was completed on Friday, Oct. 24, by a team, including a Freedom Crane Service crane operator, a U.S. Forest Service tree climber and a qualified sawyer, all collaborating to fell the tree.

Gabor describes that “during the felling process, the tree climber attaches a tether toward the top of the tree to attach to the crane boom. The crane provides tension while the tree is being cut and suspends the tree in order to safely place the tree on a specially-built cradle system that supports the tree on the Kenworth and Hale truck/trailer to prevent damage during transport.”

Freedom Crane Service operator Travis Philips explained on a 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Facebook reel how the well-planned harvest played out on that sunny morning. “[Once] we tensioned up on [the tree] with the crane, the cutter with the Forest Service came in. He cut it in exactly the right spot where we talked about cutting it. I hoisted it up off of the stump, and then we brought our secondary hook down [to] attach to the tree … and uprighted it to get it horizontal to be loaded on the trailer. Everything went off flawless and smooth, and we just took our time, and everybody did a great job.”

A safe cradle

Careful planning ensures the tree has a safe ride on its way across the country toward Washington, D.C., gently supported within the trailer with her branches secured by rachet straps, ensuring a width no more than eight feet wide.

In advance of the harvest, the U.S. Forest Service team practiced building up the trailer with plywood and lumber, leaving space for 20 feet of viewing windows for all to admire on Silver Belle’s trip across the country. At each whistle stop, the public may take photos with the tree and sign the banners, which are illustrated with the names of contributing sponsors and partners.

Leao describes that, “The tree walls will be decorated with Christmas lights and [some of the] ornaments that Nevadans have made. Hopefully those that [made] ornaments get a chance to see their ornament on the tree as it goes through the Nevada whistle stops.”

Watering considerations

Over the 28 days between harvest and arrival at the Capitol, care must be taken to keep the tree healthy.

Leao explains, “Even though the tree is cut, through capillary action it is pulling water through the cells of the tree and providing moisture to the branches and the crown of the tree. We have an [80-gallon] bladder bag that attaches to the tree on the trailer and our tree watering team makes sure that there’s enough water on the tree as well.”

On a 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Facebook reel, U.S. Forest Service forester Darby Boe describes an unusually perfect solution: “We’re schmearing toilet bowl wax on the tree … to help create a seal with the bladder bag to prevent leakage during transport. We want to make sure we’re not getting wax overflowing on the front side of the bowl of the tree, because this is where the cambium layer is, which is this really fine, thin layer, right on the inside of the bark. That’s what transports water and nutrients up and down … through the branches and through the roots.”

Ray Lopez, a forester on Silver Belle’s care team, keeps the sealed bladder full and wets the branches daily. He estimates the tree is consuming 10-15 gallons of water per day.

Jingle all the way

Silver Belle made her public debut at the Nevada Day Parade in Carson City on Saturday, Nov. 1. Over the next three days, she visited crowds in Lovelock, Elko, Ely and also near Alamo, where Lincoln County students lined up to sign the commemorative banners. On Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 4, she arrived at her last stop in Nevada: Las Vegas.

At the Vegas Chamber-sponsored event, a crowd of well-wishers gathered at the Civic Center in downtown Las Vegas to pose for selfies with Silver Belle and Smokey Bear and to take turns climbing the 6 ft. ladder to find an empty spot to sign the banners on both sides of the 54,700-lb., 101-ft.-long truck.

Against the tinkling tunes of Christmas music, lines of smiling visitors progressed among the Nevada-themed merchandise, including magnets, hats, ornaments, mugs, shirts and hoodies, all decorated with the Capitol Christmas tree logo.

Sponsors, community leaders and Duncan Leao spoke to the crowd about the significance of Nevada’s ‘gift to the nation.’ Mary Beth Sewald, president and CEO of the Vegas Chamber, said, “It really does represent the spirit of our state, the fact that we are resilient, diverse and deeply rooted in community. The Capitol Christmas Tree is a national tradition that brings people together.”

Then Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters, summed up the theme of our continuing coverage. “It inspires the understanding of what we can do when we come together — that no matter what divides us, there’s those things that we come together — for each other — to make our communities and our country as best as we possibly can. You are sending an inspiration across the country, representing your state, but guiding communities to the place where they can come together around something that they can celebrate.”

What Happens Next

Silver Belle has now passed through about 20 percent of her 3,800 mile journey across the U.S. toward the Capitol with festivities in eight states along the way. Look for continuing coverage in our Friday, Dec. 19, edition about the installation, fortification, and the ceremonial lighting by fourth-grader Grady Armstrong from Virginia City in northern Nevada.

Jessica Sterling is editor of the Pahrump Valley Times.