Logan • The century-old ash trees along Logan’s Canyon Road have become part of Alexa Sand’s family.
After all, these leafy landmarks, which line the street she has lived on for 20 years and serve as a gateway to Logan Canyon, are nearly twice her age. They’re even older than her 95-year-old house.
For Sand and others in Logan’s Island neighborhood, these ash trees stand out. In spring, when the leaves first unfurl, they glow with a soft, pale green light, Sand said. All summer — as critters jump from branch to branch — they sway in the wind and, in the fall, they turn a fiery orange-yellow, giving them, she added, a warm, “lit-from-within” radiance.
So, when she learned the city had a proposed project that would remove nearly all of these historic trees, Sand felt sick.
“I get a little choked up,” she said, “when I think about it.”
As Logan (population 56,000) continues to grow, Mayor Holly Daines said the state is requiring the city to build a waterline to store additional water. The project, which is expected to start in the spring, would involve the construction of a 10 million-gallon storage tank and a 48-inch line to funnel water from Logan Canyon to areas west of Main Street.
Because of Canyon Road’s proximity to the canyon and where the storage tank would be located, the city is considering laying the waterline under that street. If the City Council signs off, it would mean digging up the pavement, and bringing the area “up to code” with improvements such as sidewalks, where they are lacking, and adding potential bike lanes.
‘They’re not dying’
The waterline and roadwork, which could cost the city $27 million, would doom the much-cherished ash trees, which hug the road. And many residents –– who have formed a Canyon Road Coalition –– don’t want sidewalks, bike lanes or a more “up-to-code” neighborhood.
They agree, Sand pointed out, on one thing: Save the trees.
“They’re not dying anymore than I’m dying,” Sand said. “I’m a 55-year-old human, and I have my share of scars and bumps, and I take my pills at night. The trees are certainly aging, but a healthy ash tree can live to be 200 years old. They’re halfway there.”
To draw attention to the issue, the group tied ribbons around the trees and launched a petition to voice their concerns. As of Friday evening, it has more than 1,000 signatures.
(Clarissa Casper | The Salt Lake Tribune) Residents have tied green ribbons around ash trees that line Logan's Canyon Road to draw attention to a proposed city project that threatens the trees.
Daines noted that the city hired an independent arborist two years ago to examine the health of the trees. “There really are only three of those 17 trees that they think are worth saving,” the mayor said, “given their expected life.”
But Mark Malmstrom, the certified master arborist who conducted the 2022 examination, said such a dire prediction is expected only if the road proposal moves forward.
Without this project, he said, the approximately 107-year-old trees would be “absolutely worthy of preservation.”
None of the trees is in perfect health, he acknowledged, but all are landmarks.
“Everyone around Logan, in their memory, these trees have always been here,” Malmstrom said. “They’re significant and they’re historical.”
(Clarissa Casper | The Salt Lake Tribune) Certified master arborist Mark Malmstrom points out a scar on an ash tree struck by a vehicle.
The reason the trees wouldn’t survive under the project, Malmstrom said, is because the waterline installation would cut the roots. Without the roadwork, he added, the trees could live much, much longer.
“Sometimes you make compromises,” Malmstrom said. “A sidewalk would be nice, but at the expense of all these trees? Is that the best thing?”
Right time to upgrade the road?
Miles Becker, an arborist and Utah State University Extension urban forestry assistant professor, said ash trees can live up to 400 years in the wild. In urban areas, however, there are more pressures that shorten their lifespan. For the Canyon Road ash trees to be standing after 100 years, he said, is impressive.
“The older they get, the more work they do for us,” Becker said. “So if those trees are 100 years old, how long will it take to get a tree that’ll do that same thing and have that same value? Some of the people that are signing that petition aren’t going to be here anymore.”
For her part, the mayor said since the waterline would require essentially digging up the road, the city figured it would be the right time to make improvements, including a sidewalk in place of the strip of ash trees. If it weren’t for the line, she added, the city wouldn’t be looking to upgrade Canyon Road.
Daines said she knew residents were going to have concerns. So, the city convened an Oct. 3 meeting with homeowners who would be most impacted by the project to learn what road improvements they might desire.
“How wonderful, if you could put in curb and gutter and a park strip with trees,” Daines said. “And, yes, they’re not going to be as big as those ash trees, but I’m hoping they can maybe get to the point where they can see some of the potential benefits for the future.”
(Logan City) Logan Mayor Holly Daines.
The mayor said she has a vision to revamp the entire street. The property owners worried about losing their trees, Daines said, can be comforted in knowing their children will be able to enjoy new big trees in their lifetime.
“Yes, we may potentially lose those trees, which we think are on their way out anyway,” she said, “but look at what we could create for the next 50 to 100 years.”
‘Holly’s folly’?
After the community meeting, the city asked the engineering firm it is working with on the project to prepare a document that discusses alternative routes for the waterline and why Canyon Road is the best option. That document is not yet available.
Leila Shultz, a field botanist with nearly 60 years of experience in the Intermountain West, has lived on Canyon Road for half a century, watching the ash trees grow larger year after year. For Shultz, the project poses more than just a threat to her beloved trees, it also raises engineering concerns that, in her view, remain unanswered.
“I just feel this would become Holly’s folly,” she said. “I don’t want that to happen.”
(Clarissa Casper | The Salt Lake Tribune) Canyon Road resident Leila Shultz stands with an ash tree at the end of her driveway. A proposed city project threatens the trees.
When Canyon Road residents showed up at that meeting, they said they felt blindsided, having not been involved in conversations surrounding the project until that point. When resident Sydney Elwood raised concerns about the sidewalk and other road improvements, she said she was shut down.
“The city kind of responded to us with, ‘Why would you not want this?’” she said. “‘You’re being selfish by not wanting this because everybody else wants this.’”
Elwood, who has spent the past month talking with neighbors and community members about the project, said she hasn’t met anyone in favor of it. She started the grassroots petition requesting the city take the time to evaluate the proposal.
“This is the community’s tree,” Elwood said, pointing to the ash at the end of her driveway, “and everybody seems to feel a sense of ownership in it.”
