The holidays are almost here and that means one state agency is on the lookout for its next Christmas tree to decorate the Missouri Governor’s Mansion lawn. Landowners, homeowners, businesses, and communities are encouraged to nominate their candidate trees.
According to the Department of Conservation’s Holly Dentner, the tree needs to be a fully branched tree that is between 30 to 40 feet tall.
“We have a great time asking folks to think about trees that they might be, you know, towards the end of their life, might be ready to have that tree removed,” she told Missourinet. “Instead of it just ending in the chipper, we’d like to put it on the Governor’s Mansion lawn and let people admire it, decorate it for the holiday season.”
The tree must be fully branched on all sides and easily accessible to be removed with large equipment.
“The species that we prefer are eastern red cedar, Norway spruce, and white pine. We like those species just because they seem to have that traditional Christmas tree shape in most options,” she said. “Most of the trees that we’ve found during my tenure in the Department have been Norway spruces. They just make good looking Christmas trees.”
The right tree may either be near the end of its life or may need to be removed because it’s too large for the space it is in.
“So, they’re going to look like a Christmas tree you’d buy from a Christmas tree farm except much bigger,” Dentner explained. “We do need one other important thing is easy access to that tree. So, we will bring in a crane and a flatbed truck and remove that tree from your property, free of charge, but we have to have the space to do that.”
Candidate tree nominations are due by October 10.
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