Las Vegas trees may be a necessary casualty in water crisis

In her Saturday letter, Stephanie Steffen bemoans the fact that ash trees are dying in Las Vegas. She tells us that they are doing so because the grass beneath them has been removed as part of Southern Nevada’s water retention practices. I ask her one simple question: Are the ash trees endemic to this part of the country?

Ms. Steffen calls them “legacy trees.” I don’t know what that means. Does she mean that they were there before she came on the scene? If the trees are not a natural part of the desert ecosystem, then, yes, reduction in water supply could mean their demise. And, yes, that is exactly what a long-term, extensive drought means for a number of plants brought to our valley.

I am very sorry to see the trees die, but it has nothing to do with an emperor without clothes and ever