Spencer Tacke: Modesto wantonly destroys four more majestic trees

I was upset to see that the Modesto city administrators are back up to their old ways, removing four more majestic 50- to 100-year-old trees from Enslen Park. These trees are just the latest casualties in what seems to be a continuing pattern for city administrators, following the tree-trimming frenzy that went on in the summer of 2014 when they got the city streets ready for the Modesto Grand Prix by removing 12 beautiful, 50- to 100-year-old trees from downtown.

Those healthy trees provided tremendous beauty, shade and cooling for downtown; they took a multitude of years to grow and helped our environment by removing carbon dioxide and generating oxygen. They provided much needed serenity to the downtown area.

The trees just removed from Enslen Park, and all the ones removed in the interim, did the same. Checking with the city department responsible only yielded answers such as “they were undesirable” or a “hazard.”

If the citizens of Modesto allow these practices to continue, their once beautiful tree-lined streets and parks will eventually resemble the barren wastelands of Eastern Russia.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Spencer Tacke: Modesto wantonly destroys four more majestic trees."