It began in 1987 when a city contracted tree-cutting crew wanted to remove two 75-year-old ash trees from in front of Pepper Provenzano’s home. Six trees had been removed from the adjacent block a day earlier, cut from the ground level, chopped up and hauled away. Pepper called the City Forester and won a temporary reprieve which later turned permanent but not before he learned that most of Salt Lake City’s trees were in declining condition and the City Forester had only a five-man crew to handle 46,500 street trees. He also learned that about 800 trees must be removed from public areas each year while only 400 can be planted due to limited funds. Pepper recognized a need for creating an organization dedicated to urban forestry and the stewardship of trees. TreeUtah was established on Arbor Day in April of 1989 through a proclamation by then Salt Lake City mayor Palmer DePaulis. Pepper Provenzano remains the Founding President of Tree Utah.