COEUR d'ALENE - Red, white and blue, screaming freedom in the wind from the top of a gigantic evergreen in the forest. That's Idaho.

The American flag that appeared atop a Ponderosa pine last summer near Fourth of July Pass and then disappeared last winter is back again.

Nobody knows how it got there - near mile marker 27 on the north side of Interstate 90 - or who is behind the daring feat of placing it way up top.

Jason Kirchner, spokesman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, said the Forest Service first learned about the flag reappearing on April 13.

The tree is more than 5 feet in diameter at its base. The only sign anybody had visited the tree was a couple water bottles lying discarded on the ground.

The Forest Service doesn't want people hanging items in trees or putting up displays on public land. If it becomes a trend, the agency will have to invest in enforcement to discourage such incidents, Kirchner said Wednesday.

First a flag. Possibly a sign or some other display next.

Like last summer, the Forest Service won't be sending anyone to get the flag and take it down.

"It's just too dangerous for our tree climbers," Kirchner said. "It's not worth the risk."