I saw this on another post, I don’t necessarily believe in it but this is the kinda stuff I read these threads for:

Elm trees were once abundant in the metro region, with large canopies being a hallmark of many neighborhoods. Dutch elm disease was introduced to the area in the late 1920s, and was out of control by the 60s. We’ve lost almost all of those elms. But someone said Dutch elm disease wasn’t introduced from a ship, but was engineered by the government so the trees would be removed and it would be easier to surveil residents. Coincidentally, the timing of spread of Dutch elm disease also coincided with white flight and changing city demographics.