ASMA KHALID, HOST:
Some of the world's tallest trees grow in the remote coastal communities of Northern California. So, of course, there's a rivalry over who has the tallest living Christmas tree. NPR's Alice Woelfle has more.
ALICE WOELFLE, BYLINE: Jim Campbell-Spickler is a forest canopy ecologist and kind of an expert when it comes to measuring tall trees.
JIM CAMPBELL-SPICKLER: I would consider the measurements that we've completed to be official.
WOELFLE: He's the director of the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, a small city about 250 miles north of San Francisco. He says the coast redwood he strung with lights is 174 feet, 9 inches tall.
CAMBELL-SPICKLER: I rigged the tree, climbed to the top, dropped that tape, and it is accurate within a half an inch. And when we had our press release go out, we worded it carefully to say that this was the tallest known decorated living tree that we knew of.
WOELFLE: Almost as soon as it was announced, the zoo got a call.
CAMBELL-SPICKLER: Well, hey, the folks down in Mendocino County at the Skunk Train claim to have a taller tree.
WOELFLE: One-hundred thirty miles south in the town of Willits, a historic railroad takes visitors through forests with old-growth trees. Stathi Pappas is the Skunk Train's general manager. He oversaw the decoration of a redwood he says stands 222 feet - almost 50 feet taller than the one in Eureka.
STATHI PAPPAS: It is the tallest tree, you know, in the world as a Christmas tree, unless somebody finds a bigger one and decides to decorate it.
WOELFLE: And, yes, its ornaments are huge.
PAPPAS: I found a few vendors that had, you know, 36-inch-diameter, you know, round ball ornaments and pendants and everything else. So, of course, you know, that's what we used.
WOELFLE: Campbell-Spickler says, based on video evidence, he agrees the tree is bigger than the one at the zoo. But size isn't everything.
CAMBELL-SPICKLER: It wasn't ever about height for us. We selected our tree because of its just perfect location.
WOELFLE: All parties agree the competition is friendly.
CAMBELL-SPICKLER: They've got a great one. We've got a great one. We are a region that is just known for its tall trees, and, you know, it's just a reason for us all to celebrate.
WOELFLE: Campbell-Spickler estimates the rival tree in Mendocino County could be 700 years old. He's offered to travel south to do an official scientific measurement before next Christmas.
Alice Woelfle, NPR News.
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