Christmas tree cultivation major Christmas tree growing region, Douglas-fir has always been the primary species grown. A full one-half of all trees produced in the Pacific Northwest are Douglas-fir. Douglas-firs typically take five to seven years before they are mature enough to sell as Christmas trees. Also common in the region are noble fir, a tree which commands a higher price than Douglas-fir, and grand fir, which accounts for about 10 percent of the annual harvest in the Northwest. Other species collectively account for only 3–5 percent of the total Northwest harvest. In North America, Fraser fir, grown in the Appalachian Mountains of
Douglas E. Noble of the 2017 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter Presidential Honor as educator of the year. Noble completed a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and both a Master of Architecture and Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. His doctoral dissertation built on the work of Horst Rittel by creating a computer supported Issue-based information system. Noble taught for a few years at UC Berkeley and then joined the faculty of the USC School of Architecture in 1991. Noble has taught at USC since 1991, focusing on