A class of fourth graders at Monroe Elementary School thought it was fishy that Utah’s state tree was the Colorado blue spruce.
The group approached Gov. Gary Herbert with their idea to change the state tree to the quaking aspen last fall, said Sen. Ralph Okerlund (R-Monroe), sponsor of Senate Bill 41, which proposed the change.
The bill has passed through both chambers at the state legislature and awaits the governor’s signature.
He brought Paul Rogers, “a real expert on aspen trees,” to help introduce the bill to the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee.
Rogers, director of the Western Aspen Alliance and adjunct professor at Utah State University, said the tree has deep symbolic ties to Utah.
“I think some folks might be under the impression that this is a superficial change,” he said.
He added that stems from an underground organism branch out to form aspen trees.
“You can have many stems that are essentially … branches of the same tree,” Rogers said.
He said these connections are symbolic of family values and connections.
The quaking aspen’s new status as a state symbol will not preclude teenagers and couples from carving their initials on aspen trunks.
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