Question
I have a rental house in Sandy, Utah with 4 Aspen trees in the front of the house.  They were there when we bought the house
10 yrs ago so I'm guessing they're about 15 yrs old.
One of the trees has no leaves at all but the other 3 have leaves
only on 1, 2 or 3 of their branches.
Could Aspens have leaves if they're dead?  Is it possible that
they're still alive and may do better next year?
Please help because we really don't want to cut them down because
they looked so pretty before.
If they do have to be cut down, what's the best way to do that without having them sprout up because I read even dead Aspens
can do that.
What do you think caused them do die?  
Any advice is very well appreciated.

Answer
Sounds like the tree maybe dying. You can check to see if the limbs are still alive by scraping a small bit of bark off the near the end of a branch and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive,. If the color is brown the branch is dead. dead Branches will not have green leaves on them. Not really sure what caused the death. Do not worry about the trees sprouting from the roots after you cut them. Live trees when cut will sprout but dead ones will not.   

US Forest Service researchers are looking into the problem of apsen dying across the West.

Sudden Aspen Decline or SAD is responsible for the deaths of almost 10 percent of aspen groves in the San Juan National Forest. U.S. Forest Service officials say aspens in low elevations in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests are also dying at an alarming rate.

Severe drought earlier this decade weakened or stressed the trees, leaving them susceptible to disease, and insect infestations may be raising mortality rates, researchers say.

In trees affected by SAD, the roots are weakened, making it difficult for aspen stands to regenerate. Forest Service officials say that could eventually affect species that depend on aspens as well as economies that depend on hunting and tourism.

Forest pathologist Jim Worrall of the Forest Service said the trees dying today could have begun deteriorating three to five years ago. The trees first lose their green, heart-shaped leaves, the crown thins and branches die. A destructive canker or infestation and bugs could finish off the stressed trees.

Worrall said the die-off of aspens in the region is getting worse.

"It's actually not gradual at all as far as the trees are concerned. It's happened so fast, people are probably not aware of it. I feel like we can't get enough data to answer questions to provide information to the public," he said.

The Forest Service conducted an aerial study last year that showed the Dolores Ranger District in the state's southwest corner had 12,860 acres, or 9.84 percent, of dead aspen acreage.