A tree from Uncompahgre National Forest near Delta in western Colorado was selected as the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday.

The Engelmann spruce, standing 55 feet tall and 25 feet wide, was selected virtually from a group of 10 candidates. It will be displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington throughout the holiday season.

“In a normal year, we scour the forest for this special tree. Due to the pandemic, we used videos, pictures and measurements … to identify a suitable Engelmann spruce that all Coloradans can be proud of,” said Jim Kaufmann, director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum for the Architect of the Capitol.

The tree will be harvested from the Uncompahgre Plateau on the Ouray Ranger District, a location selected by the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests in partnership with the Architect of the Capitol.

Harvesting is scheduled for early November, after which the tree will be shipped to the East Coast to arrive at the Capitol in late November.

Once arrived, the tree will be decorated by the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum team using thousands of handcrafted ornaments from Colorado. The annual tree lighting will happen in early December.

“This year’s tree selection was a little nonconventional, but we are very excited to have the tree selected and look forward to the next phase of the project, planning the tree cutting ceremony,” GMUG forest supervisor Chad Stewart said.

The project is funded and run by numerous sponsors and volunteers, including Choose Outdoors and Colorado Tourism.

More information about the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is available on the USDA’s website.