by E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow Greg Walcher
As appearing in The Daily Sentinel
In the 1957 Dr. Seuss classic, when the Grinch steals everything needed for the Who-ville Christmas celebration, the final insult is the tree. “And he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee, and now, grinned the Grinch, I’ll stuff up the tree!”
This year’s Grinch may be a federal district judge named Raner Collins. His ruling in a Wild Earth Guardians case about Mexican spotted owls threatens to steal not just any Christmas tree, but THE Christmas tree from the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Providing the Capitol Christmas tree is a great honor, traded each year among various states, and this year it’s New Mexico’s turn. A giant tree was selected from the Questa Ranger District of the Carson National Forest, to be shipped to D.C. in time for the festivities, including a tree-lighting ceremony that attracts thousands of visitors. The selection is a big deal for New Mexico. At the same time, 70 smaller companion trees also get shipped to D.C. to decorate other government buildings.
