Logan • For some residents of this city, Dr. Seuss’ well-known children’s tale, “The Lorax,” is starting to feel less like fiction and more like reality. But unlike the story, which features just one character advocating for the preservation of trees, Logan is home to hundreds of “Loraxes” speaking for Canyon Road’s threatened ash trees.
The Logan City Council chambers and overflow rooms were filled to the brim Thursday night with more than 100 residents seeking answers to their questions about the city’s proposed $50 million to $60 million First Dam water tank and waterline project, which is needed to address the city’s current water needs but threatens the life of beloved century-old trees.
The meeting, hosted by the city and the engineering firm managing the project, was intended to encourage greater public input — something residents have accused the city of neglecting.
“We ruffled some feathers, and I don’t feel bad about that,” said Erika Hansen, who lives near the ash trees and watches baby owls learn to fly within their branches each year. “I feel like they’ve made up their mind, but I don’t feel hopeless.”
(Clarissa Casper | The Salt Lake Tribune) Logan residents attend a meeting about the fate of several century-old trees on Canyon Road.
Hansen, the owner of Center Street’s The Red Fox, is among the dozens of business owners throughout the city who have put up “Save the Canyon Road Trees” signs outside their establishments. After residents heard of the proposed plan that would uproot the trees, a coalition was formed, and hundreds of residents got involved in advocating for the preservation of the trees.
As of Friday, a petition calling on city leaders to reconsider the project had nearly 4,000 signatures.
During the meeting, residents were asked what they want Canyon Road to look like in the future as improvements are made. Attendees made their priorities clear, sporting “Save the Canyon Road Trees” pins, stickers, hats and T-shirts. Some held signs referencing “The Lorax,” and others, like Laurel Cannon, brought the children’s book to share. Cannon’s mother, who recently passed away, once threatened to tie herself to the ash trees to keep them safe from development.
“The Lorax is about care for the environment and growth,” Cannon said. “I think we were given the illusion of options and the illusion of choice. And I think most of the people who were here tonight saw past that.”
(Clarissa Casper | The Salt Lake Tribune) Logan residents attend a meeting about the fate of several century-old trees on Canyon Road.
A team of J-U-B engineers and city employees explained why they chose Canyon Road as the route for the waterline, which would cut the roots of the historic trees if it were to go there. After detailing the six alternatives the firm considered, J-U-B project manager Zan Murray said Canyon Road would be the shortest, straightest route, making it the cheapest and least intrusive.
“These are like puzzle pieces,” Murray said of the alternatives. “We can go ahead and mix and match, though, we only have so much width to work with until we get out and impact other people’s property.”
Murray said the project was still in its planning stages when residents began asking questions. Although the idea had percolated in Logan since 2001, the first time a Canyon Road resident heard of the project was October.
The city’s community development director, Paul Lindhardt, said the project’s long history explains why a public records request obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune — one seeking documents, information and communications showing that the city, its employees or contractors had considered alternative paths for the project — produced no documentation beyond a summary of the other route options. The date range of the request — April to November — was too narrow to capture other records related to project alternatives, the city said.
