SOUTH JORDAN – The cottonwood tree has been on the banks of the canal in South Jordan for well over 100 years, and residents like Rachel Haider love it. She says, “This tree has been the center of the community for generations. There have been kids that have tree house in it and rope swings in the canal.” She says if you were to ask the long-term residents that live there, they would say it’s the city’s official tree.
There’s only one problem… it’s not.
“If there ever was an official tree that the logo was based off of, we don’t know of it,” says South Jordan City Spokesperson Tina Brown. She adds, “As far as we’re concerned, this tree does not exist. The logo was designed from an art contest at Bingham High School a long, long, long time ago.”
Still, investigators say it was a well-used and beloved landmark. Police Lieutenant Matt Pennington says they found three teens who intentionally set it on fire, but, they claim they didn’t intend for the fire to get as big as it did.
The tree is expected to survive, but arborists have run into another problem. There’s a federally protected falcon nest in the tree, and crews can’t prune it until the birds leave.