In late May, Fairpark resident Michelle Watts saw that a stretch of large honey locust trees in her neighborhood seemed sickly. “I had noticed that a bunch of trees along the Utah State Fairgrounds on the North Temple side looked pretty mangled,” said Watts, who is also a part of the Fairpark Community Council . “This just looks pretty grim.
” She quickly flagged the ailing trees on Salt Lake City’s mobile app to make sure someone would go and check on them. In an email exchange with City Forester Tony Gliot soon thereafter, she learned that a Parks Division maintenance worker had mistakenly applied an herbicide that’s inappropriate for use on many trees and shrubs. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dead trees on North Temple, near the Utah State Fairpark, on Monday, July 22, 2024.
An internal investigation of the accident found that approximately 200 trees and dozens of shrubs were affected and already dead or in severe decline, according to records obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune. The mistake has heightened neighborhood concerns about air quality and heat on the west side of Utah’s capital, and comes on the heels of Mayor Erin Mendenhall making tree-planting in this part of town a priority . Herbicide mix-up According to a summary of the investigation, the employee was attempting to control weeds growing around the base of the trees but mistakenly selected an herbicide that’s normally used to kill unwanted trees and shrubs without affecting the grass arou.