​Consulting Arborist Service

Consulting Arborists are the authoritative experts on trees and bring an objective, comprehensive viewpoint to their clients—ensuring the safety, health, and preservation of trees. Servicing a wide variety of clients, including property owners, municipalities, contractors, attorneys, insurance professionals, landscape architects, developers, engineers, other arborists, and more.

“Arborist” is a generic term for a tree specialist. “Certified Arborist” means a person who has a certain amount of experience in the industry, may or may not hold a degree in the field, and has passed an entry-level, 200-question multiple choice exam covering a wide variety of arboricultural topics. Many professionals in the green industry including landscape architects, landscape contractors, gardeners and municipal urban foresters become Certified Arborists, but not all Certified Arborists are qualified to be consultants.

“Consulting Arborist” is also a generic term and does not refer to a specific credential. However, most are Certified Arborists and many (at least in the U.S.) are members of ASCA (American Society of Consulting Arborists). Consulting arborists are called upon to solve complex tree problems and often write reports and specifications. A Tree Protection Plan for a development project is a common assignment for a consulting arborist.

Involve the arborist early and often

For best results, the consultant should visit the site during the planning stage, before a final design has been drawn up, and take inventory of the trees. The arborist assesses existing trees for health and hazard potential and researches which ones may be protected by local ordinance.

Some removal recommendations may come from this initial site visit – there’s no need to spend time and money protecting dead, infested or hazardous trees. The consultant can then make design recommendations conducive to preserving the trees that are worthy of preservation or required to be protected. It’s far easier to protect trees when the design and building process encroaches lightly on their roots and canopy.

A few minutes with a backhoe can kill a tree

In addition to pre-construction recommendations, the consulting arborist should be involved throughout the project. Unforeseen issues often pop up in the field – large roots may be found in unexpected places, irrigation water gets turned off, or site conditions may force a change in the design, means or methods. The initial Tree Protection Plan recommendations lose impact with time and as more subcontractors visit the site. Years of careful tree preservation can be undone in a few minutes with a backhoe.

When the consultant is visiting the development site regularly, many unintended negative impacts can be prevented. Only the consultant has the historical knowledge and awareness of what has happened to the trees and what needs to be done going forward.

Some municipalities have a requirement for a “Project Arborist” to visit the site on a scheduled basis and/or whenever work takes place within designated Tree Protection Zones. If yours doesn’t, include these visits in your project for best tree preservation results. Good communication between the contractor and the arborist are a must for this to work – the arborist has to know when work is being done that will affect existing trees.

Conclusion

The mere presence of a consulting arborist on a development project does not guarantee successful tree preservation. It takes continuous collaboration between the arborist, designers, contractors, owners and municipalities before, during and after a project to keep existing mature trees healthy and stable. When the dust settles, and the finished building is shaded, private and aesthetically pleasing due to the existing mature trees, all the work will have been worth it.

Consulting Arborists provide the following types of services:

Other Services