mccall

The annual tradition of providing a Christmas tree for the U.S. Capitol got an early start last month at the McCall, Idaho, Winter Carnival. The Payette National Forest is providing the 2016 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, historically and fondly known as “The People’s Tree,” which will adorn the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in December.

It seemed fitting to stage the kick-off event in McCall because the forest surrounds the city. The public event, which swells the town of 3,000 to as many as 60,000 people, has many activities including building larger-than-life snow sculptures. This year employees and friends of the Payette National Forest built an ice sculpture to celebrate their People’s Tree’s eventual arrival in Washington, D.C.

A team of volunteers from the Payette National Forest have sculpted “Smokey’s Magic” a 12-foot high, 3 foot deep sculpture of Smokey Bear in a wizard’s cloak with snowball in hand for the popular Winter Carnival in nearby McCall, Idaho.   The Forest Service team, whose members all volunteer their off-duty time to the sculpting, are always determined to make a good showing. And Smokey Bear is routinely part of their team.

Ivan and Wilmina Phelps are the proud operators of a European Fallow Deer farm in scenic McCall, Idaho where national forests are the border for many farms. Their story is a tale of hard work, love of the land, care for their animals and survival of the fittest, as the couple recovered from a disaster with help from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The Phelps Family raises the deer for venison that they sell at area farmers markets. They also sell to restaurants, stores and direct to consumers. The business started in 1998 with only seven does and one buck. In 2000, the Phelps' purchased an additional 54 heads and now have a herd of 150.