City searching for culprit who poisoned elm trees

Three mature elm trees that stood as sentinels over a majestic river valley vistawere cut down by city crews on Tuesday.

The trees were felled becausetheyhad been poisoned and now, city officials want help to find out who did it.

"We can't speculate why they've been poisoned ... but we want people to contact 311 if they have any information," saidCrispinWood, thecity's management supervisor for urban forestry.

The trees stood on a long swath of city parkland that edged a river valley ravine in the area ofValleyviewDrive and90thAvenue.Stately homes stand across the street.

Last fall, city crews were investigatingillegal tree cuttingwhich has happened previously in the areawhen they discovered a large area of dead trees and brush.

They conducted soil testsand determined the trees had been poisoned bya heavy dose ofglyphosate, also known by its commercial name, Roundup.

In front of a small crowd of cameras Tuesday, a city forester took about one minute todown one of the three dead elmswith achainsaw.

Wood said the city will replace the decorative trees, which had been planted by the city. Each of the three was valued at about $10,000.

"We want to replant because this site requires trees," said Wood.

"Trees are here for the enjoyment of citizens. They provide shade for our park benches, they provide slope stability," he said, adding they also provided a habitat for wildlife and are part of a larger ecosystem.

The Roundup attack also affected acluster of birch trees located slightly down the river bank. It's not yet known whether those trees will also have to be cut.

Wood said the city has not been able to identify people responsible for previous illegal cutting in the area.

This is the first time theurban forestry department has come across poisoning. Wood said he hopes the public will come forward with enough informationto start a formal investigation.