A fence can provide privacy and define boundaries, but building one can be detrimental if you unnecessarily destroy existing nature. According to a post in the r/arborists subreddit, that's exactly what the OP's neighbor did after removing branches and roots for a fence renewal.
The photo showed contractors digging out the area where those roots — now cut and exposed — once spread out beneath the surface. The OP referred to Utah's law that permits neighbors to cut tree roots and branches that reach onto their property. However, the same law also holds one liable for three times the value of the tree for killing it, per Crook Legal Group. That's why professional inspection now is vital.
The OP captured photos of the work in progress and confronted the neighbors about the issue, only to get a negative response. However, getting something in writing from a professional arborist who can confirm the damage and risks can help their case. If the trees die or fall, they can prove who was responsible.
Destroying tree roots is like removing a person's mouth, intestines, and feet at the same time since that's where a tree soaks up nutrients and water from the soil while stabilizing itself. Improper branch removal can expose trees to deadly pathogens. Plus, it only takes one sick tree to spread illness and potential death to ones nearby.
The loss of even one tree has a negative chain effect. According to Tree People, there are 22 benefits to having trees, which include: enough oxygen for 18 people from one acre of mature trees, cleaner air thanks to carbon dioxide absorption, cooler air — essential on an increasingly overheating planet, reduced noise pollution since they buffer it, and stabilized soil from roots, which prevents erosion.
Trees house friendly creatures that keep the already insecure food chain alive. Pollinators like hummingbirds, red robins, butterflies, and moths nest in trees where they also get nectar and pollen, adding to more biodiversity.
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If those trees need removal, die, or fall, it's also a loss for home energy efficiency, privacy, and value. Between illegal deforestation and increasing wildfires from climate change, the world can't afford to lose more of them.
"I'm so sorry to see this," one person lamented. "I feel so badly for the trees."
"I don't understand why people plant trees at the property line," another remarked. "It never ends well."
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