In early July 2022 Camcore was able to assist the United States Forest Service (associate member) in their search for the 2022 US Capitol Christmas Tree. This project allowed Camcore’s Andy Whittier to be recertified in tree climbing by the USFS so that we can continue to use this technique in collection of germplasm. In addition to being recertified the USFS and Camcore used this opportunity to climb eight 20-26 meter tall red spruce trees that had been chosen as potential US Capital Christmas Trees. The climbing of these trees was done to better inspect the quality of the trees while looking for any indication of endangered Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels in these eight red spruce. Thanks go to the USFS for coordinating this large effort and including Camcore. We are now eagerly awaiting to see which tree is chosen and followings it’s journey to Washington DC later this year.
