Two large spruce trees in front of the Old Federal Building in downtown Anchorage will not be cut down. The General Services Administration, which looks after the site, had planned to remove the more than 50-year-old trees. Administration officials said the trees were damaging the walls and the roots could hurt the foundation. They said the spruces needed to come down in order to preserve the building. After conducting a meeting where public sentiment was strongly against the plan, GSA concluded that tree removal was not necessary.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.