Wayne Allard: “the wonderful tree currently gracing the West lawn of this Capitol is from Colorado. I have had the pleasure of working…”

“the wonderful tree currently gracing the West lawn of this Capitol is from Colorado. I have had the pleasure of working towards getting this tree to DC for 2\1/2\ years, and I wanted to share with my colleagues a little about my home state's gift to the nation. The Millennium Holiday Tree is a gift from the entire state of Colorado to our nation. It is a celebration of all that is Colorado: natural beauty, many cultures, cities and rural communities, and our rich history. The Colorado tree will be shining through early January 2001. The Millennium Holiday Tree is a native Colorado Blue Spruce which stands 65' tall and was projected to be 77 years old at the time of cutting. It was grown on the Pike National Forest near the community of Woodland Park. The tree was selected from this area because it is in the shadow of Pikes Peak, often referred to as ``America's Mountain''. The Colorado State Forest Service is growing seedlings from the ``grandma'' tree. Seedlings from the Millennium Holiday Tree will be replanted at the cutting site. The Governor and Francis Owens were among the first to receive a Holiday Tree seedling for their support of this project. Hundreds of seedlings will also be planted in memorial forests around the state as part of Holiday Tree celebrations. Colorado school children made over 4,000 ornaments for the tree. They each depict the theme: ``Valuing the Past--Looking to the Future''.…”