SALT LAKE CITY WORKER'S MISTAKE KILLED 200 TREES IN NEIGHBORHOOD
A Salt Lake City worker's simple mistake costed a neighborhood 200 trees, outraging the community.
Tony Hazelbaker, the director of the city's park division, said the worker responsible for the death of 175 trees in the Fairview neighborhood was devastated when he realized what went wrong.
Last year, the worker sprayed Milestone, a common herbicide, on the base of the trees. What he didn't know was that the chemical he used was designed to kill invasive species of weeds.
Fast-forward to this summer, locals started noticing the leaves on the trees beginning to shrivel and die. The city's urban foresters determined the Milestone was the culprit, and are now working to reverse the damage on the remaining trees that are still alive.
'We're going to try to save everything we can,' Hazelbaker told ABC4.
The dead trees are still standing as of Thursday, but whether or not the herbicide is still present in the soil is unclear.
One possible solution to save the trees involves temporarily planting medium-sized shade trees in large planters filled with fresh soil until the ground is clean and they can be replanted, which could happen as early as fall.
The city is currently getting quotes for how much the aforementioned restoration effort would cost.
'Right now, of course, the shade canopy along North Temple has been reduced, which, especially on the west side, especially in this heat, is a sad thing to see,' Hazelbaker said.
'The area is not as beautiful as it could be. We're looking to have the trees removed fairly soon.'
The Fairpark Community Council said they were 'heartbroken' about the dying trees and encouraged the community to reach out with questions or concerned, per a their Facebook post.
Fairpark has been historically hotter than other neighborhoods in Salt Lake City because of their lack of canopy shade.
To address this pre-existing issue, Mayor Erin Mendenhall initiated a five-year plan to plant 1,000 trees annually on the city's west side.
Stricter protocols have since been implemented for herbicide use, including enhanced training for certified applicators and a fortified inventory control system involving both supervisors and warehouse staff, following the herbicide incident.
The city's human resources department will handle any disciplinary action against the employee responsible for the herbicide mishap, as the investigation is ongoing.
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