Someone took a machete or ax, walked down a path at Fort Collins’ newest community park and hacked down 19 trees Tuesday night, leaving city officials and local residents appalled by the destruction.
When Doug Kokes, a crew chief with the Fort Collins Parks Department, arrived at Spring Canyon Community Park at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, he couldn’t believe the vandalism. “It was disappointing. We tried to develop the park into a beautiful place,” he said.
When the park opened in 2007, the young trees were an integral part of the site’s development.
Ralph Zentz, the city’s assistant forester, was equally stunned. “I saw the first two trees and said, ‘This is bad.’ Then I rounded a bend and saw eight more trees down.”
Zentz is not sure the city has the money to replace the 4-year-old trees immediately. They cost about $500 a piece. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
