Over the weekend, Pittsburgh was hit by the fringe of a blizzard that left more than two feet of snow in parts of the East Coast. Public works crews and residents diligently spread rock salt on roads and sidewalks —an effective de-icing measure. But the traditional sodium chloride salt can potentially harm or kill trees. Trees in one part of Downtown, though, might be out of danger. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is working to protect trees in the business district this winter, by using 21 tons of “tree-friendly” magnesium chloride rock salt to protect the district’s approximately 1,000 trees. The conservancy partnered with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and PNC Bank to make the $6,200 bulk purchase from the Ohio-based company Green Machine. Traditional sodium chloride rock salt can harm trees’ roots and soil quality, and cramped urban settings like Downtown increases the danger, according to Community Forestry Coordinator Marah Vecenie. “It
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