Casper program to cut unsafe trees felled by DOGE’s ax

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CASPER—An aging, dead hulk of an ash tree trunk sits in front of Sheryl Lockard’s home at the bottom of Washington Park in central Casper. What was once a lush part of what’s dubbed the city’s “big tree area” has now become an eyesore that serves no purpose.

Except perhaps one thing.

“I’ve had cars slide into this tree,” Lockard said, “and it stopped them from wrecking my car.”

It’s one of numerous troubled or dead trees that surround her home. Maintaining living trees and removing dead ones is a big ask for someone on a fixed income. “I can’t get that tree out, I’ve got to pay water bills, and electric is high now,” she said. “I’m tapped out.”