What Is Arborist Consulting?

Arborist Consulting is the practice of evaluating, writing reports and providing professional advice to clients who need expertise on tree health issues or are looking for a comprehensive plan for their property. These types of projects often include developing a tree protection plan for construction sites, assessing the condition of trees to determine their safety and hazard potential, researching what types of trees are protected by local ordinance, or preparing a detailed written plant health care program. Consulting arborists also provide expert testimony in court cases and arbitration.

A Plus Tree is pleased to offer both a Certified Arborist and a Registered Consulting Arborist (RCA) for your consulting needs. This is important because you want to be certain that the person who is performing work on your trees is qualified to do so. Certified Arborists have passed the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) test to become a “Certified Arborist” and must obtain 30 continuing education units annually to maintain their certification.

Having the additional credential of an RCA (which requires a minimum of 5 years of professional experience, graduating from ASCA’s Consulting Academy and 420 approved Continuing Education Units) shows that the arborist you hire is committed to a career of objective assessment, enhancing the value and benefit of trees and the community. A Plus Tree is proud to provide the RCA level of service for those clients and government entities that require it.

When hiring a consulting arborist, it is best to choose one who does not do contracting work on site as well. This will avoid a conflict of interest and ensure that the consultant is only getting paid for their professional advice. This is especially true when the consultant is hired by a developer or contractor, who may hire the arborist to perform the actual work.

The most common type of work performed by a Consulting Arborist is working with developers, contractors and municipal governments to develop and implement a comprehensive tree protection plan for development sites. The consultant will visit the site prior to the final design and take inventory of the existing trees and assess their hazard risk. The resulting report will help to ensure that the existing trees are retained and the construction site is kept safe during the construction process.

Consulting arborists can also be hired by property owners and insurance companies to help them with their own tree care decisions. They can evaluate the condition of the trees on a property, recommend any pruning or other work needed to maintain or improve the health of the trees, and write an estimate of the value of the tree(s). This information is used for insurance claims in case of damage to a tree.

from Treby Tree Services https://trebytreeservices.wordpress.com/2024/11/24/what-is-arborist-consulting-3/