TCI Mag 12.07-back.qxp

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2 TREE CARE INDUSTRY – DECEMBER 2007

We just came off the most successful TCI EXPO in the history of our industry with well over4,000 attendees and exhibitors – including more than 340 students – validating our conferenceas the largest in the world for tree care. People came from all over the globe: China, Japan,

Denmark, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia and all over the United States. Soimpressive was arboriculture’s signature gathering that all four major news networks carried coverage.

This is annually one of the most intense opportunities for arborists to learn from each other and foryour staff team to learn from you. One of the things that struck me is how we are all always looking fora different and better way to do something – whether it is a better arboriculture practice, a safer way toget the job done, a new service line to provide greater consumer benefit and increase profitability, ormore advanced equipment that makes the job easier to perform. Conversations at EXPO cover thegamut of what is essentially one question: “How are you doing it?”

Mapped to that is a bit of a conundrum – as companies are founded, they tend to look for what hasbeen successful in the past – or is successful now. And, yet, those people who are being looked to arethemselves looking for new ways to do things. I have run across examples of models that run againstthe grain of how the traditional tree care company operates. One company had no bricks and mortar.The owner and all the crews had laptops, radios, cell phones or blackberries. They were early thirties oryounger and had not committed to the expense of owning a place, when you can work from anywherewith technology to connect to your employees and your customers. Another company is based in onestate, does not have offices all over the U.S., and yet takes jobs all across the nation – nothing like themodel of owning the building and having your customer base within a 100 mile radius of that location.

What does this prove? There is “more than one way to skin a cat,” and younger unencumbered busi-ness owners are going to use their human and technological resources in ways that the “established”company might not even conceive. Business predictions from the commercial real estate market are thatfewer and fewer people will go to a place of business in the future. Corporations have already movedaway from everyone having an office to “office sharing areas” for employees when people they do comeinto the central office. That is similar already to crews based all over the place that start out from homeinstead of going to a central office.

What WILL the tree care company model of the future look like? We have centralized and decentralizedmodels in play now. Is one better than the other? Is there another model that is going to drop the overheadcosts significantly like the “techno-only” approach, which will ramp up the competition? Have we eventhought about the models that we operate under and how to consider evolving them for the future?

Five years ago, we didn’t have e-mail addresses for a significant number of people in our industry,and it wasn’t because they weren’t sharing. Today, we send more and more member services digitallythan we do in print form anymore. Ten years ago, few were logging onto the Internet daily. At TCIEXPO, one of the highest rated and absolutely packed workshops was all about Internet marketing. Ourmodel of interacting with our customers and our employees is changing. Are we being purposeful aboutit as an industry and seeking together what will create the best way for us to serve our customer and beprofitable in the future?

What IS our model for the future?...

Cynthia Mills, CAE, CMCPublisher

What’s our Model forthe Future?

Outlook

TCI's mission is to engage and enlighten readers with the latest industry news and information on regulations, standards, prac-tices, safety, innovations, products and equipment. We strive to serve as the definitive resource for commercial, residential,municipal and utility arborists, as well as for others involved in the care and maintenance of trees. The official publication of thenon-profit Tree Care Industry Association, we vow to sustain the same uncompromising standards of excellence as our membersin the field, who adhere to the highest professional practices worldwide.

Tree Care Industry

Publisher

Cynthia Mills, CAE, CMC

Editor

Mark Garvin

Managing Editor

Don Staruk

Technical Editor

Peter Gerstenberger

Art Director

Richard May

Advertising Sales

Sachin Mohan(516) 625-1613

Classified Advertising

Suzanne Blanchette(603) 314-5380

Accounting/Editorial/Sales Offices

3 Perimeter Road, Unit 1Manchester, NH 03103Phone: (603) 314-5380Fax: (603) 314-5386

E-mail: [email protected]

Circulation

TCI, PO Box 15907 North Hollywood, CA 91615-5907

Fax: (603) 314-5386

Tree Care Industry Association

Officers & Directors

Jeanne Houser, ChairMcFarland Landscape Services, Inc.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scott Packard, Vice ChairWright Tree ServiceDes Moines, Iowa

Terrill Collier, Senior DirectorCollier Arbor CareClackamas, Oregon

Randy J. OwenOwen Tree Service, Inc.

Attica, Michigan

Tony GannAltec Industries, Inc.

Saint Joseph, Missouri

Erich SchneiderSchneider Tree Care

Taylors, South Carolina

Ron KeithArbor Masters Tree & Landscape

Shawnee, Kansas

Benjamin G. Tresselt, IIIArborist Enterprises, Inc.Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Will MaleyCedar Lawn Tree Service, Inc.

Ashland, Massachusetts

Steve SylvesterS&S Tree & Horticultural Specialists, Inc.

South St. Paul, Minnesota



The Official Publication of the Tree Care Industry AssociationTree Care Industry Volume XVIII Number 12

DECEMBER

Tweaking the Benefits of Organic MulchBy Dr. Glynn Percival and Evangelos Gklavakis

Professional Duties in Tree Risk AssessmentBy J. David Hucker

Clearing the Way for EnergyBy David Rattigan

Fine Tuning Grinder Output for New MarketsBy Rick Howland

On the Trail of the Light Brown Apple MothBy Sarah Magee

Building a Climbing SystemBy Keith Pancake

OutlookBy Cynthia MillsFrom bricks and mortar to virtual offices – what will be the tree careindustry’s business model for the future?

Cutting EdgeNew products and services, and news in the tree care industry.

Industry AlmanacImportant regional and national meetings and activities.

Letters & E-mails

Features

Departments

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(Continued on page 6)

Copyright 2007 by the Tree Care Industry Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The Tree Care Industry Association is dedicated to the advancement of commercial tree care businesses. Reference to commercial products or brand names in editorial does not constitute an endorsement by Tree Care Industry magazine or the Tree Care Industry Association. TreeCare Industry (ISSN 1059-0528) is published monthly by the Tree Care Industry Association, 3 Perimeter Road, Unit 1, Manchester, NH 03103. Subscriptions $30 per year (Canadian/International orders $45 per year, U.S. funds; $2.50 per singlecopy). Periodicals postage paid at Manchester, N.H., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tree Care Industry, PO Box 15907, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5907.

How good can mulch be?

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But I didn’t look at that tree...

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ON THE COVER: Mike Dirksen, left, andMark Bridge performed climbing demosin SherrillTree’s booth at TCI EXPO inHartford. Watch for the EXPO 2007 photospread in the January issue of TCI.



The Official Publication of the Tree Care Industry AssociationTree Care Industry Volume XVIII Number 12

DECEMBER

Branching OutBy Rebecca FaterA new “One Day, One School” program, making trees on school prop-erties safer, may be coming soon to a town near you.

Accident Briefs

AccreditationJohn Kerns says TCIAAccreditation is for tree care firms today what thecertified arborist credential was for industry employees in the 1990s.

Washington in ReviewOSHA rules that all personal protective equipment (PPE), with a fewexceptions, will be provided at no cost to employees.

Classified Advertising

TCIA ReporterSafety and training products, news, commentary & benefits of member-ship with the TCIA

TCI 2007 Article ListA chronological listing of all articles in TCI magazine for 2007.

Advertiser Listing

TrainingHere’s your chance to host almost free EHAP training in your area.

From the FieldBy Marie HawkinsShould nose plugs be standard personal protective equipment? Maybe...

Departments

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Building a system

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Winter Buyers’ Guide supplement with this issue

The photo montage on the cover of theOctober issue of TCI included an imageof tree climbers that was taken by NickCrawford.



By Dr. Glynn Percival and EvangelosGklavakis

Plant moisture stress is widely recog-nized as a leading cause of treedecline within urban landscapes. In

the United Kingdom soil moisture deficitswere especially damaging during the 2003,2004 and 2006 growing seasons, whereprolonged periods of no rainfall and tem-peratures frequently above 85 degreesresulted in substantial tree deaths, especial-ly of newly transplanted trees. Asubsequent watering ban in the south ofEngland during 2006 meant techniques toprevent or reduce moisture stress of land-scape trees have become of fundamentalimportance.

Mulching as a means of reducing soilmoisture stress, weed control and improv-ing soil fertility has been used inarboricultural, agricultural, fruit and farm-ing systems for decades. Many benefits of

mulches exist to include minimizing soiltemperature and soil moisture fluctuations,encouraging tree root growth, suppressingweeds and enhancing soil nutrient status.In addition, mulches can prevent mowerand string-trimmer damage to the tree

trunk and act as a buffer in preventingexcess de-icing salts from percolating intothe soil around the root zone.

Landscape mulches can be composed ofinorganic (e.g. crushed stone, crushedbrick, gravel, polyethylene films) andorganic matter (shredded branches andleaves, softwood and hardwood tree bark,wood chips, sawdust, pine straw, recycledpallets and mixes of the above). The use oforganic rather than inorganic mulches inurban landscapes is more widely recom-mended for improved growth ofestablishing and established trees.

Pure mulches

Although organic mulches derived fromwood chips are widely applied to trees, fewstudies have investigated the effectivenessof organic mulches derived solely from onetree species (defined in this instance as apure mulch) on transplant survival andsoil-borne disease suppression. For exam-ple, are mulches derived purely fromEnglish oak (Quercus robur), better thanones derived solely from common ash(Fraxinus excelsior), horse chestnut

Is organic mulch from any one tree species better fortransplant survival and soil-borne disease suppression?

Photo 1: The mulched hawthorn trees used for experimental purposes. All photos and images courtesy of Glynn Percival.

Photo 2: The mulched beech trees used for experimental purposes.

(Aesculus hippocastanum) or birch (Betulapendula)? Likewise would an English oakperform better when a pure mulch derivedfrom English oak is used compared to amulch from another tree species? Or isthere one species of tree from which a puremulch is ideal for all tree species? Toanswer these questions and provide furtherinformation regarding the use of mulches,a number of mulching trials were instigat-ed at the R.A. Bartlett Tree Laboratorybased at the University of Reading in theUnited Kingdom.

Container experiments

Initial experiments used bare-rootedstock of beech (Fagus sylvatica, Photo 2), aspecies regarded as notoriously transplantsensitive, and hawthorn (Crataegus monog-yna, Photo 1), a species regarded as highlytransplant tolerant. Each bare rooted treewas planted into two-gallon pots containinga general tree compost mix. Six puremulches were then prepared from beech(Fagus sylvatica), hawthorn (Crataegusmonogyna), silver birch (Betula pendula),cherry (Prunus avium), evergreen oak(Quercus ilex) and English oak (Q. robur).All mulches were made when trees werefully dormant in early February when, withthe exception of evergreen oak, no leaveswere present on the tree. Mulches wereapplied to a depth of 4 inches. Ten beechand 10 hawthorn per pure mulch were used.It was important to record the date whenpure mulches were made as chemical andphysical variations will exist withinmulches made during spring and summerwhen foliage and flowers will be present.This in turn would affect mulch chemicalcomposition, rate of decomposition andparticle size. Effects on tree survival andgrowth were recorded at the end of thegrowing season (late September).

Results showed that pure mulches had asubstantial effect on tree survival rate andgrowth at the end of the growing season. Inthe case of beech, survival rates of control(non-mulched trees) was only 10 percent.Application of a pure mulch increased sur-vival rates to 20 percent to 70 percent. The

pure mulch providing the highest survivalrate was that derived from hawthorn(Figure 1). Not only were survival ratesimproved, but there was a marked differ-ence in the appearance of the survivingcontrol beech tree (Photo 3) compared to ahawthorn-mulched beech tree (Photo 4).

A similar response was shown whenhawthorns were treated with a range ofpure mulches. As hawthorn is a transplanttolerant tree, a 100 percent survival wasrecorded in all cases. However, at the endof the growing year, hawthorn trees treatedwith pure hawthorn mulches had 20 per-cent to 30 percent higher dry weights thannon-mulched control trees. Overall, resultsconstantly indicated that pure mulchesderived from hawthorn and cherryincreased survival rates and resulted inlarger, healthier trees compared to puremulches derived from silver birch, beech,evergreen oak and English oak.

Field trials

Based on the results of the containerexperiments, a number of field trials wereinstigated using larger 3.3- to 4.95-foottrees of conference pear and apple, cultivarGala (Photo 5). At the time of planting alltrees were root pruned by removal of about55 percent (conference pear) and 45 per-cent (apple) total root volume to produce a

TREE CARE INDUSTRY – DECEMBER 2007 9

Photo 3: The only surviving beech control tree, which wasnot mulched, at the end of the growing season.

Photo 4: A mulched beech tree at the end of the growingseason.

root:shoot ratio of 0:33 – a ratio associatedwith transplant stress in trees. Trees wereplanted in late January and mulched to adepth of 4 inches using one of the six puremulches mentioned above. Ten trees perpure mulch were used and all mulcheswere applied at the time of planting.During the growing season, no irrigationwas used and no fertilizers applied. Theeffects of pure mulches on growth (i.e.crown volume) and fruit yield were record-ed at the end of the growing season. Puremulches derived from hawthorn and cherrywere again the best type of pure mulch,increasing crown volume growth by 100percent to 150 percent (Figure 2) and fruityields by 400 percent to 600 percent. Eventhe poorest pure mulch, a mulch derivedfrom beech, still increased crown volumegrowth by 20 percent and fruit yields by 50percent. The importance of this result: anymulch is better than no mulch.

Why the differences between mulches?

This then begs the question, why didpear and apple trees grow more slowly

when a beech mulch was used compared toan hawthorn mulch? Published literaturepoints to an important influence of thebreakdown chemicals released by eachmulch type. A pure mulch derived fromcypress, for example, has been shown toslow down the growth of a range of woodyplants (hydrangea, spirea, viburnum) com-pared to conventional garden center pinebark mulches. As cypress trees are notedfor their resistance to decay fungi that isassociated with the presence of phenoliccompounds in the wood, it was suggestedthese phenolics would be leached into thesoil and inhibit root growth. Likewise puremulches derived from Eucalyptus grandishave been found to contain phytotoxicresidues (organic oils and acids) that weretoxic to germinating seedlings of a range ofplants. One of the most famous allelopath-ic trees is black walnut (Juglans nigra)with reported effects of allelopathic chem-icals produced by the roots of this treeinhibiting growth or even killing surround-ing trees. The chemical responsible for thetoxicity in black walnut is known as

Juglone. When plants are exposed tojuglone, they exhibit wilting, foliar chloro-sis, and eventually death. TheTree-Of-Heaven, or Ailanthus altissima, isa recent addition to the list of allelopathictrees. Ailanthone, an allelotoxin extractedfrom the root bark of Ailanthus, is knownfor its herbicidal activity on other plants.

Other wood breakdown products, how-ever, have been shown to be effective atstimulating rather than inhibiting rootgrowth. Both hawthorn and cherry woodare high in sugars such as sucrose and sor-bital, respectively. Applications of sugarsto transplanted trees have been shown to beeffective at enhancing root vigor and inturn alleviating transplant stress and pro-moting survival rates of newly plantedEnglish oak, birch and beech. Similarly,extracts of box elder have been shown tostimulate the growth of a range of grasses,while recent studies demonstrated that freshand composted mulch derived solely fromEucalyptus cladocalyx was found to have apositive effect in transplant performance ofPlatanus racemosa. Furthermore, fresh pine


Photo 5: Based on the results of the container experiments, a number of field trials were instigated using larger 3.3- to 4.95-foot trees of conference pear and apple, cultivar Gala.


bark mulch has been shown to positivelyaffect establishment of English oak(Quercus robur). Possibly beech wood ishigher in chemicals associated with inhibit-ing root growth compared to hawthornwood, which is higher in chemicals withroot-promoting properties?

Can mulches be used to suppress or con-

trol soil-borne disease?

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a destruc-tive and widespread soil-borne pathogenthat has been associated with the declineof several forestry (oak, chestnut, eucalyp-tus), ornamental (rhododendron, azalea,

camellia) and fruit (avocado, cranberry,blueberry) plants. Primary symptomscaused by this pathogen in trees includefine root lesions that can extend into larg-er roots, collar and trunks causingbleeding cankers (Photo 6). Control of P.cinnamomi is primarily through the use ofagrochemicals. Disadvantages of chemicalcontrol include the build up of fungicidetolerance, failure of chemicals to control P.cinnamomi once a tree is infected, andincreased government restrictions regard-ing chemical use and application. Forthese reasons, research at the R.A. BartlettTree Research Laboratory has been evalu-ating pure mulches for their potential insuppressing or controlling P. cinnamomi.Preliminary data has been promising.Trials using container grown trees haveshown that plants grown under puremulches of hawthorn had higher concen-trations of enzymes (catalase, superoxidedismutase) in the root and leaves related tohost defense mechanisms, which in turnresulted in a 40 percent to 60 percent



reduction in disease severity (Figure 3).The discovery that mulches are useful insuppressing specific soil-borne diseaseswas made about 40 years ago. Accordingto researchers at the University of

California, Phytophthora, for example, is“eaten,” dissolved and starved at thesoil/mulch interface. Further researchundertaken at the University of Californiahas shown that mulches with copiousquantities of under-composed wood arealso effective in suppressing Phytophthoraroot rot. The addition of lime (calcium car-bonate) to the mulch promoted thesuppressive conditions necessary forPhytophthora suppression. Interestingly itwas not the increase in soil pH that sup-pressed Phytophthora but the fact thatbiocontrol bacteria were stimulated by theincreased pH levels. Research has alsoshown that economically important agri-cultural soil-borne diseases such asrhizoctonia, fusarium and pythium can beusefully suppressed by mulch application.

Guidelines for applying mulches

1. Mulch should be applied from the dripline to the trunk. If this is not practical,minimum mulch circles should be 1.1 feetfor small trees, 3.3 feet for medium treesand 9.9 feet for large trees.

2. When applying mulch it is best to killor remove existing ground cover or at leastmow the grass very short and remove clip-pings. Mulch should be applied directly tothe soil surface. Do not use landscape fab-

ric to separate the mulch from the soil.3. A mulch layer should be 2 to 4 inches

thick, depending on the tree species andtype of mulch applied.

4. To avoid root disruption for mostspecies, mulch should not be removed.Additional mulch should be added to main-tain 2 to 4 inches on an annual basis.

5. Mulch should not be placed againstthe trunk. Mulch will retain too muchmoisture against the trunk that may resultin disease.

Conclusion

Initial results of our trials and that of oth-ers show that pure mulches can providemany beneficial effects. A useful degree ofcontrol of P cinnamomi in containerizedstock is achievable without the use ofchemicals, while research elsewherestrongly suggests pure mulches offerpotential to suppress diseases at the land-scape level.

In addition, establishment rates of diffi-cult-to-transplant trees such as beech canbe increased from 10 percent to 70 percentby the use of appropriate pure mulches.Fruit yields of young trees be increased by400 percent to 600 percent. Such benefitshave a positive impact not only for thoseinvolved in the care and maintenance ofurban trees, but also agricultural, forestry,orchard and horticultural crop production.Importantly the use of pure mulchesrequires no capital investment and onlysmall adjustments to standard managementaftercare procedures.

Dr. Glynn Percival is with the BartlettTree Research Laboratory UK, andEvangelos Gklavakis is a Masters ofScience research student at the Universityof Reading, UK.

Some of the results published in this arti-cle were derived from a Masters of Scienceresearch thesis by Evangelos Gklavakis atthe University of Reading under the super-vision of Dr. Glynn Percival.

Selected References:

Buckstrup, M.J. and Bassuk, N.L.(2000) “Transplanting success of balled-and-burlapped versus bare-root trees in theurban landscape.” Journal ofArboriculture. 26(6): pp. 298-308.

Case, L.T. and Mathers, H.M. (2006)



Photo 6: Primary symptoms caused by Phytophthora cin-namomi in trees include fine root lesions that can extendinto larger roots, collar and trunks causing bleedingcankers.


“Herbicide-treated mulches for weedcontrol in nursery container crops.”Journal of Environmental Horticulture.24(2): pp. 81-90.

Downer, A.J. (1997). “Disease suppres-

sion with mulches.” Proceedings of theUCR turf grass and landscape managementresearch conference and field day, pp14-17.

Downer, A.J., J.A. Menge and E. Pond.(2001). “Association of cellulytic enzyme

activities in Eucalyptus mulches with bio-logical control of Phytophthoracinnamomi.” Biological Control. 91(9):847-855.

Downer, A.J. and Faber, B. (2005)“Effect of Eucalyptus cladocalyx mulch onestablishment of California sycamore(Platanus racemosa).” Journal of AppliedHorticulture. 7(2): pp. 90-94.

Duryea, M.L., English, R.J andHermansen, L.A. (1999) “A comparison oflandscape mulches: chemical, allelopathicand decomposition properties.” Journal ofArboriculture. 25(2): pp.88-97.

Gilman, E.F. and Garbosky, J. (2004)“Mulch and planting depth affect live oak(Quercus virginiana Mill.) establishment”.Journal of Arboriculture. 30(5): pp. 311-317.

Gklavakis Evangelos (2006). “The useof pure mulches to improve root vigour andaid transplant success of urban trees.” MScThesis. University of Reading, Reading,Berkshire, UK.

Hoitink, H. A. J., A. G. Stone, and D. Y.Han. 1997. “Suppression of plant diseasesby composts.” HortScience 32:184-187.

Iles, J.K. and Dosmann, M.S. (1999)“Effect of organic and mineral mulches onsoil properties and growth of FairviewFlame® Red Maple trees.” Journal ofArboriculture. 25(3): pp. 163-167.

Jin, Z., Chung, B.Y., Iiyama, K. andWatanabe, S. (2002) “Changes of chemicalcomponents of leaf litter of Ginko bilobaduring mulching.” Journal ofArboriculture. 28(4): pp. 171-177.

Percival, G.C., Fraser, G.A. and Barnes,S. (2004). “Soil injections of carbohydratesimprove fine root growth of establishedurban trees.” Arboricultural Journal. 28:pp. 95-103.

Percival, G.C. and Fraser, G.A. (2005).“Use of sugars to improve root growth andincrease transplant success of birch (BetulaPendula Roth.).” Journal of Arboriculture.31(2): pp. 66-78.

Struve, D.K., Burchfield, L. andMaupin, C. (2000) “Survival and growth oftransplanted large- and small-calliper redoaks.” Journal of Arboriculture. 26(3):pp.162-169.

Watson, W.T. (2005). “Influence of treesize in transplant establishment andgrowth.” HortTechnology. 15(1): pp. 118-122.




Dow Accord XRT II Specialty HerbicideDow AgroSciences’Accord XRT II specialty herbicide, a new

high-load non-selective herbicide that provides vegetation man-agers with the latest innovation in glyphosate technology, hasbeen accepted for use by the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency. The advanced glyphosate formulation is easier to han-dle and gives applicators improved tankmixing capability, even

in cool temperatures. Featuring a patented DMA salt, XRT II delivers proven, consistentbroad-spectrum control of more than 100 annual and perennial weeds, plus woody plantsin a formulation with lower viscosity. In addition, the low-odor, low-foam formulation con-tains a proprietary blend of surfactants that helps deliver superior performance on targetspecies and reduces the chance for measuring and mixing errors. XRT II contains 5.4pounds of active ingredient per gallon, resulting in less handling and lower use rates.Contact Dow AgroSciences via www.vegetationmgmt.com, or 1-800-263-1196.

Cutting Edge - Products





Fecon, Inc. FTX350 Track CarrierFecon, Inc.’s newest addition to its Track Carrier

line; the FTX350, is equipped with steel tracks,making it ideal for high production in tight or openplaces, soft ground, rough terrain or wheretransport weight is important. With varioustrack width options and a machine weight ofroughly 28,000 pounds, the ground pressure on theFTX350 can be as low as 3.4 psi. It has a powerful Tier III hp Cummins engine and isequipped with a BH99HD Bull Hog mulcher. The mulcher offers a 30 degrees lateral tiltand an 86-inch cutting width; allowing for more efficient mulching on uneven terrain. Thestandard LCD screen with computer monitoring system and user-friendly controls makethis an easy and comfortable machine to operate. Options for the FTX350 include a 25,000pound Ramsey Winch, Espar Heater (coolant & hydraulic) and Winter Cleats. ContactFecon at 1-800-528-3113 or via www.fecon.com.

Swinger Model 2K compactloader

Swinger Compact Loaders’ new Model2K loader/tool carrier fetures a 2,500-pound SAE-rated lift and carry capacity,a 25 percent increase over the previousmodel. The engine compartment is alsonew, with a flip-up fiberglass hood andeasy access to the modular engine/pumppack. The 65 hp Cummins diesel engine

is transverse mounted, allowing for easymaintenance. Driveline upgrades includeheavy duty planetary industrial axleswith load/torque ratings of13,000/11,070 pounds (a 2-foldincrease). The hydrostatic drive systemnow offers “on-the-fly” operator-selecthigh/low speed options. The new “shortrun” hydrostatic system operates at 5,000psi, improving capacity for propulsionand attachment operation. A redesignedarticulation/oscillation joint nowincludes independent modes for turningand impact absorption. A horizontal shaftis the frame oscillation member while thevertical shaft is the turning or articula-tion component. The heavy-duty turnjoint is expected to increase durability andlongevity. The operator station has beencompletely redesigned for ergonomicoperation. The bucket is self-leveling.Contact Swinger at 1-800-656-6867 of viawww.nmc-wollard.com.

Husqvarna 455 Rancher Chain SawOne of Husqvarna’s popular chain saws, the 455

Rancher, now offers tool-free chain adjustment thatallows operators to replace the chain or makeadjustments quickly and conveniently withouthaving to keep additional tools at hand. The 455Rancher is equipped with a 3.4 hp X-TORQ

engine that delivers up to 10 percent more cutting power while at the same time reducingemissions up to 70 percent and fuel consumption up to 20 percent. Ergonomicallydesigned, the saw has no protruding parts, a smooth underside, a rounded starter cover andprotected controls for operator comfort and ease in handling. It also features Husky’sLowVib anti-vibration system, the Smart Start system for easy starting, and Air InjectionÔsystem for cleaner operation. Constructed for durability, the saw is made using a precision-forged, three-piece crankshaft, reinforced crankcase and heavy duty muffler. ContactHusqvarna via www.usa.husqvarna.com or 1-800-HUSKY(48759) 62.


Send your Cutting Edge Productinformation to:Don Staruk at

[email protected]

Bayer CoreTect Tablets Bayer’s CoreTect tablets, having recently received registration

from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are for use duringtree and shrub installation or on established plants. CoreTect

Tablets are a new tech-nology that combinesthe power of Meritinsecticide with a fertil-izer in convenient,easy-to-use tablets

designed to provide insect control and plant fertility throughout theyear. In addition, the tablets allow plants to better survive harshenvironmental conditions, including drought, heat, and poor soils.CoreTect systemically triggers enzymatic pathways that produceantioxidants, resulting in better stress defense and more efficientuse of nutrients and water. With less energy expended by the plantfighting environmental stresses, more energy goes into healthy rootand shoot growth. Applied at transplanting or to established treesand shrubs, CoreTect tablets also deliver excellent control of insectpests. Avoid spraying pesticides and fertilizers, saving on equip-ment and labor costs, while improving plant health, and easilyprotect plants in hard-to-treat locations. Contact Bayer atwww.backedbybayer.com.

Argus Electronic’s PiCUS Sonic TomographyArgus Electronic’s PiCUS Sonic Tomography uses sonic waves

to analyze the stability of standing trees. Using tree geometrydata, the software draws a map ofthe tree that shows “apparentvelocity” or “apparent density” inthe measuring level. The sonicvelocity correlates with wooddensity and, therefore, with thehealth of the wood. Standardapplication of the PiCUS requiresassigning a sonic sensor to each measuringpoint around the circumference of the tree. The number of avail-able sonic sensors is the limiting factor on large diameter trees.Now, a recently developed (wireless) electronic impact hammergenerates sonic signals on virtually any point at the measuringlevel. The electronic hammer allows operation of the PiCUSSonic Tomograph with only four to six sensors, though multiplesensor positions (typically 10 to 14) still are used as transmittingand receiving points. The difference from the standard model isthat data is recorded step by step rather than all at one time. Theother major difference is a lower price. Contact Argus Electronicvia www.argus-electronic.de.

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Book marks Bobcat’s 50thanniversary in 2008

To mark its 50th Anniversary, BobcatCompany has introduced a special hard-cover version of its recently released book,“Bobcat: Fifty Years of Opportunity –1958-2008.” Published by MotorbooksInternational and authored by MartyPadgett, the book features 11 chapters and264 pages. MBI also published a bookstoreversion, “Bobcat Fifty Years,” with fivechapters and 216 pages. The special editionis available through Bobcat dealerships orat www.bobcatstore.com.

Nearly 50 years ago, Bobcat introduceda compact front-end loader that becamewhat the company says was the world’sfirst skid-steer loader, later adopting thefamiliar “Bobcat” brand.

“We realized that there was a little moreof interest to Bobcat dealers, employees andformer employees, friends and neighbors,and to good Bobcat customers who are asmuch a part of the history as we are,” saidLeroy Anderson, marketing communicationmanager and company historian. “So weadded six more chapters full of anecdotesand advertising history that paint an evenricher picture of the unique Bobcat culture.”

The book contains a complete Bobcatproduct index and interviews with many ofthe key individuals in the North Dakotacompany’s history. Bobcat Company hasmore than 4,000 employees in plants andoffices around the globe.

Columbus Equipment joinsMorbark family

Columbus Equipment Company, spe-cializing in heavy equipment distribution,service and rental, is now the authorizeddealer of Morbark equipment in Ohio,West Virginia and Kentucky.

Established in 1952, and headquarteredin Columbus, Ohio, Columbus Equipmentoperates in 10 locations in Ohio. As anauthorized dealer for nearly a dozen manu-facturers, Columbus Equipment holdscompanies to the highest standards.Manufacturers must be able to meet orexceed stringent benchmarks not only in

product quality, but also in their ability tosupport the machines they bring to market.

F.A. Bartlett loses FrankBartlett Heisinger

Frank Bartlett Heisinger, 57, of Stamford,Conn., passed away unexpectedly atHartford Hospital on November 9, 2007.

Frank spent his entire working career inthe tree care industry, beginning with sum-mer work in the field and rising to hispresent position of vice president of corpo-rate partnerships and assistant secretary ofthe F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company. Healso served on Bartlett’s Board ofDirectors. Frank recently joined his familyand friends in proudly celebrating the100th anniversary of the company. In addi-tion, Frank was an active member of theInternational Society of Arboriculture,Connecticut Tree Protective Association,American Society of LandscapeArchitects, Tree Care Industry Association,and Professional Landcare Network.

Frank’s journey ended peacefully amidsta close group of family and friends.

He was a life-long resident of Stamford,leaving briefly to attend Hoosac School inHoosick, N.Y., and Colorado StateUniversity in Pueblo, Colorado.

Frank passionately loved nature and theout of doors, in particular fishing, hunting,gardening and discovering. His first lovehowever was people: spending his timeand sharing a laugh with his family andfriends. He was well known for his good-ness, compassion and quick wit. Serviceswere private.

Chicago Botanic Gardennames woody plants curator

Andrew Bell, Ph.D. joined the ChicagoBotanic Garden as the new curator ofwoody plants. In this position, Dr. Bell isresponsible for managing the 200,000 itemwoody plant collection at the garden. Thecollection includes trees, shrubs, woodyvines and groundcovers for landscapes inthe Chicago area, and is considered one ofthe best-maintained and most beautifullydisplayed in the world.

Third generation is comingon-line at Vermeer

Two members of the Vermeer family’sthird generation are now on board at theVermeer Manufacturing Company.

Jason Andringa, son of co-CEO MaryVermeer-Andringa, joined the company in2005 as an environmental solutions seg-ment manager,and Allison VanW y n g a r d e n ,daughter of co-CEO BobVermeer, joined in2007 as an indus-trial distributionmanager.

Jason has abachelors degreein mechanicalengineering fromCalvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.,anda masters in aeronautics and astronauticsfrom the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology and a masters of businessadministration from the University ofSouthern California. Prior to joiningVermeer, he was a staff engineer for JetPropulsion Laboratory, a federally funded

research anddevelopment facil-ity managed by theCalifornia Instituteof Technology.

Allison joinsVermeer after fiveyears at PrincipalFinancial Group inDes Moines, Iowa.During this time,she worked as aninvestment analyst

for Principal Real Estate Investors for twoyears and as senior market analyst in thePrincipal Health segment. After complet-ing her undergraduate degree at CalvinCollege in Grand Rapids, Michigan, sheattended Drake University in Des Moinesand graduated with a masters in businessadministration with a financial emphasis.

The pair are part of a succession plan thefamily began working on 20 years ago.

Cutting Edge News

Jason Andringa

Allison Van Wyngarden



Events & Seminars

December 5 & 6, 2007WHENRecycling Expo SouthSpence Field, Moultrie GAContact: Matt Stanley 1-800-218-5586;www.WHENRecyclingExpo.com

December 10, 2007Hazardous Tree IdentificationRutgers Office of Continuing Professional EducationRutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJContact: (732) 932-9271; [email protected]

December 13-14, 2007Large Tree Climbing and RiggingRutgers office of Continuing Professional EducationRutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJContact: (732) 932-9271; [email protected]

December 18-19, 2007Certified Treecare Safety Professional-CTSP WorkshopOrlando, FLContact: TCIA 1-800.733-2622; www.tcia.org

January 7-9, 2008Great Lakes Trade Expo (GLTE)DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, MIContact: www.glte.org; 1-800-879-6652

January 7-11, 2008Advanced Landscape Plant IPM PHC Short CourseUniversity of Maryland College Park, MDContact: Debbie (301) 405-3913; [email protected];www.raupplab.umd.edu/conferences/AdvLandscape

January 8-10, 2008Landscape Ontario Congress 2008Toronto Congress Centre, Toronto, Canadawww.locongress.com

January 8-10, 2008Rutgers North Jersey Ornamental HorticulturalSymposium (Tree, Turf & Landscape Day)Morris County RCE office, Morristown, NJContact: (973) 285-8300

January 9-11, 2008Minnesota Green ExpoMinneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis MNContact: 1-888-886-6652; [email protected]

January 9-11, 20082008 CSRA Tree, Turf and Ornamental Seminar(Central Savannah River Area)Julian Smith Casino, Augusta, GA 30904Contact: Henry Frischknecht/Terry Troutman, EmpireTree & Turf (706) 854-0926

January 15, 2008EHAP -Electrical Hazard Awareness TrainingTroy, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

January 15-17, 2008Indiana Arborist Association Annual ConferenceIndianapolis, INContact: (765) 494-3625; [email protected]

January 16-17, 2008Annual NJ Nursery & Landscape Conf. & Trade ShowSomerset, NJContact: www.gardennj.net; [email protected]

January 16-18, 2008Mid-Am Horticultural Trade ShowMcCormick Place, Chicago, ILContact: 1-800-223-8761; [email protected]

January 17, 2008CTPA Annual MeetingFarmington, CTContact: Chris Donnelly, [email protected]

January 24, 2008Pesticide SafetyRutgers Office of Continuing Professional EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick, NJContact: www.cookce.rutgers.edu

January 24-25, 2008Utah Pest Control & Lawn Care AssociationAnnual Trade Show & ConventionRed Lion Hotel, Salt Lake City, UTContact: Les Ingram (801) 773-4411;[email protected]

January 27-29, 200843rd Annual Shade Tree SymposiumPenn-Del Chapter ISA, Certification exams Jan 27.Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster, PAContact: E.Wertz (215) 795-0411; www.penndelisa.org

January 27-February 1, 2008Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short CourseThe Virginia Horticultural Foundation The Founders Inn and Spa, Virginia Beach, VAContact: (757) 523-4734; www.mahsc.org

January 29, 2008Urban Soil Fertility and the Effects of MycorrhizalFungi & Beneficial BacteriaBingham Farms, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

January 30-31, 20082008 Connecticut Turf & Landscape ConferenceCT Grounds Keepers & CT Irrigation ContractorsConn. Conf. Ctr, Adriaen’s Landing, Hartford, CTContact: Dick Tice (203) 699-9912 or [email protected]

Industry Almanac More almanac online!For the most up to date calendar information, visit

www.treecareindustry.org�� news�� industry calendar

Send your event information to:Tree Care Industry,

3 Perimeter Road, Unit 1, Manchester, NH 03103

or [email protected] circle 16 on Reader Service Card

January 31, 2008When Is Wilt Not a Wilt: Wilt, Vascular and BacterialDiseases of Woody PlantsTraverse City, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

February 3-5, 2008Wisconsin Arborist Association Annual MeetingMiddleton, WIContact: Cory Gritzmacher, (920) 948-7530;[email protected]

February 6-8, 2008New England Grows!Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, MAContact: Mary Simard (508) 653-3009;www.NEGrows.org

February 8-12, 2008U.S. Composting Council Annual Conf. & Trade Show Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CAContact: www.compostingcouncil.org; (631) 737-4931

February 10-14, 2008Winter Management ConferenceTree Care Industry AssociationWestin Aruba Resort, ArubaContact: Deb Cyr 1-800-733-2622; [email protected]; www.tcia.org

February 12, 2008Recognizing, Understanding & Managing InsectPests of Ornamentals in the LandscapeBingham Farms, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

February 15, 2008Sixth Annual Rochester Arborist’s WorkshopRochester International Event Center, Rochester MNContact: Ed Hayes (507) 285-7431

February 18, 2008Why is My Plant Wilting? Diseases of Woody PlantsBingham Farms, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

February 19-22, 2008ASCA Consulting AcademySheraton Suites, San Diego, CAContact: (240) 404-6482; www.asca-consultants.org

February 22, 2008Woody Plant SymposiumChicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, ILContact: (847) 835-8261;www.chicagobotanic.org/symposia

February 24-29, 20082008 Municipal Forester InstituteT-BAR-M Conference Center, New Braunfels, TX.Contact: www.NJArboristsISA.com

February 26-27, 2008Trees, People & the Law SymposiumNational Arbor Day FoundationEuropean Crystal Banquet Ctr., Arlington Heights, ILContact: www.arborday.org/tpl or (888) 448-7447

February 27, 2008Woody Ornamental Updates: Review ’07, Anticipate ’08Bingham Farms, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

March 4-5, 2008MGIA’S 21th Annual Trade Show & ConventionRock Financial Show Place, Novi MIContact: MGIA at (248) 646-4992

March 6-7, 2008NJAISA Garden State Tree ConferenceRutgers Univ., Cook Campus Ctr, New Brunswick, NJContact: (732) 574-9100; www.NJArboristsISA.com

March 16-18, 2008Southern Chapter ISA Annual MeetingKnoxville, TNContact: Dwayne Carter, 1-888-339-8733;[email protected]

March 17-19, 2008Certified Pesticide Applicator Training & TestingBellville, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

April 8-9, 2008Cert. Pesticide Applicator Training & Testing (InSpanish)Bingham Farms, MIContact: MGIA (248) 646-4992

November 11-12, 2008Certified Treecare Safety Professional-CTSP WorkshopIn conjunction with TCI EXPO 2008Milwaukee, WIContact: 1-800.733-2622; www.tcia.org

November 13-15, 2008TCI EXPO 2008Tree Care Industry AssociationMilwaukee, WIContact: Deb Cyr 1-800.733-2622; [email protected]; www.tcia.org



Learn how to grow or improve your business atWinter Management Conference

Feb. 10-14, 2008Westin Aruba Resort & Spa, Aruba

By J. David Hucker

Tree care professionals, particularlythose involved in sales, offer theiropinions every day regarding the

condition of large trees in urban areas. Asour society becomes more litigious, manytree experts will error on the side of legalsafety and opine that a tree with a defect beremoved rather than run the risk of thetree’s failure, which they feel may thenlead to their being named in a lawsuit.

I have been asked by practicingarborists, “If I tell a client that their tree isreasonably safe, and then during a stormthe tree falls and injures someone, can Istill be sued?” Unfortunately, the answer isyes. Anyone can sue in civil court; it’s justa matter of filing fees. In this article I willdiscuss some legal concepts and offeradvice on how to avoid becoming namedin a suit; however, it needs to be under-

stood that while I will advocate for the bestpossible business practices, no profession-al arborist can ever be completely freefrom the possibility of legal action.

In order to avoid lawsuits, you need ageneral understanding of negligence law.Negligence can be defined as an act, or afailure to act, which falls below the stan-dard of duty of care established for theprotection of others against unreasonablerisk of harm. In order to prove a negligenceclaim, four elements must present:

1. Duty

In our industry this means at least adher-ing to established professional standards ofconduct. The core intent of these standardsis to protect people from harm, which inthis case can mean physical harm or mon-etary loss. Specific duties might includethorough site inspections and a full reportany hazardous situations discovered.

2. Breach

This means that once the duty has beenidentified, an act, or failure to act, can beshown to have breached that duty. To test aBreach of Duty, ask, “would a reasonableperson (or reasonable professional in ourcase) in a similar situation have done thesame thing?” As an example; would anoth-er tree care professional (or severalprofessionals for that matter) have missedthe signs of weakness in the tree that failed


A local tree care company’s salesperson was requestedby a client to visit the client’s residence in order toinspect and offer recommendations regarding severalfruit trees in the rear yard that were rapidly losingfoliage. The salesperson arrived at the client’s house andparked in the driveway approximately 35 feet from thebase of the tree pictured. The arborist failed to noticeany of the warning signs exhibited by this tree and onlydiscussed with the client the fruit trees in the rear. Twomonths following the sales call the tree pictured failedand struck a passing motorist. Both the arborist person-ally and the tree care company were named in the civilaction.

The Business of Tree Care

and fell on the Smith’s house?

3. Causation

Here we need to look at actual causationand proximate causation. Actual causationconsiders, “is the person being sued theactual cause of the damage sustained by theperson initiating the lawsuit?” Proximatecausation looks at the issue of forseeability.Here we ask “whether the damages wereforeseeable or whether they were tooremotely connected to the incident to con-sider.” If an arborist failed to discover clearevidence of weakness in a tree and thisweakness caused the failure of the tree,direct causation could be demonstrated;however, if this weakness existed but wasnot the cause of the failure (perhaps amajor storm of unforeseeable force felledthe tree), then direct causation might notexist.

4. Damage

This simply means that some measura-ble amount of physical or economic lossoccurred.

At this point I hope you have concludedthat understanding and exercising ourduties as arborists properly are where weshould focus our energies. Arborists shouldhave a clear understanding of their profes-sional responsibilities. Remember, “Whatwould other professional arborists do in asimilar situation?” That’s the key, do noless than your professional contemporarieswould do under similar circumstances.

An interesting concept arises with thisstatement, however. It’s not uncommon fortree care providers to not fully considerwho their contemporaries are, or possiblythey may not properly represent who theircontemporaries may be. If you’re a treecutter, great; but don’t call yourself a treeexpert or call your company the ABC TreeExpert Service – this can get you into trou-ble. If you’re certified, but in a particularinstance you are asked to evaluate an exot-ic shade tree that exhibits a fungus fruitingbody that you do not recognize, state yourlimitations (in writing is best). In short, tellyour clients what your abilities are, and asimportantly, inform your clients of yourlimitations. It’s OK if you’re not a researchpathologist, and you and your client will bebetter served if you do not hold yourselfout as one of the research pathologists’

contemporaries. Honesty can go a long way in avoiding a

lawsuit for negligence. Clearly report toyour client (and record) any limitations inyour ability or constraints to your assign-ment. If you find that you need to call inspecialists occasionally, great! Let themsign off on the diagnosis, and you sell theresulting work. The end result is the clientis properly served and you haven’tbreached any professional duty.

The most common lawsuits againstarborists arise from tree risk assessmentmatters. This can mean not only recogniz-ing and reporting a problem with a tree youhave been charged to inspect, but also notrecognizing or reporting a tree with a faultthat you could have reasonably beenexpected to notice. Chemical pest controlpractices and transportation issues see theirfair share of legal problems, but arboricul-tural risk assessment, or the failure torecognize or report hazardous trees, shouldbe a primary concern of all professionalarboricultural sales personnel.

To be successful in an arboriculturalsales position you will need to able to sat-isfy the needs of your clients as often aspossible, and it’s a daily occurrence thatclients wish to know, “Can I keep the big

tree near the house?” Sales personnel needto be able to accurately answer questionssuch as this on a regular basis. This meansthat, at the very least, you should stay cur-rent on tree risk assessment techniques,and have the tools, time and ability to prop-erly and completely investigate eachclient’s problems. Oftentimes it is a simpleinvestigative technique or a very smallexpenditure of time that could help youavoid a lawsuit. Simple as it may sound,take the time to walk all the way around thetree. Many times, fences, shrubbery orother obstacles make this more difficult. Ipromise, however, that wherever you don’tlook is where the decay will be.

Get the “Big Picture.” Don’t walk by thehuge ash with the included bark crotchbecause you were only asked to look at thelittle birch in the back. At the least, visual-ly inspect the whole property whenreasonable. Why should you report to yourclient any hazardous trees you notice?Because that’s what other professionals inyour field would do. Advising a client inwriting is always the best method ofaddressing any dangerous conditions younotice. Even if further investigation may berequired to fully assess a condition, advisethe client what you have observed and


The most common lawsuits against arborists arise from tree risk assessment matters. This can mean not only recognizingand reporting a problem with a tree you have been charged to inspect, but also not recognizing or reporting a tree with afault that you could have reasonably been expected to notice.


what it indicates to you. There will be occasions when a written

report of all hazardous conditions or poten-tially hazardous conditions that fall outsideof your specific assignment is impractical.It is acceptable in many cases to offer oralcomments to a client, however, you shouldlog the discussion. How? In your daily log.

This is an invaluable tool for all sales per-sonnel. It may be a PDA or simply a spiralbinder; whatever will be simple to use andwill record information for a reasonableperiod. If during a sales call you advise Mr.Jones that several of his oaks contain sig-nificant amounts of large deadwood, andhe thanks you for the information but asks

you to only deal with the funny little holeson the stem of his birch tree, fine, but enterthe conversation in your log. Include thetime, date and essence on your discussion.If anyone is ever injured by one of thoseoak limbs you can point to your log andsay, “On June 12, 2004, at 10:20 a.m., Iadvised Mr. Jones about those limbs and hethanked me for my concern but requested Inot concern myself with them.”Additionally, as a sales tool, you can thenreview your log during your quiet seasonand consequently telephone Mr. Jonesregarding his oaks. Log this call also.

Another issue that attorneys will look foris prior notice. When you advised Mr.Smith that his tree appeared sound and didnot appear to be at risk, did you know thatthree other similar trees had failed on thissite in the recent past? Ask questions; findout about the history of the site if at all pos-sible. Again, get the big picture. Lookaround the site for evidence of past fail-ures. Prior knowledge of previous failureson a site can be significant part of a riskassessment and may be considered as abreach of duty if an arborist fails to consid-er prior failures in his or her assessmentand report.

It is not the purpose of this article toteach you how to assess risk that trees maypresent. I assume you already have theseskills. If not, or if you need to brush up,many excellent articles, texts and seminarsare available through our trade organiza-tions. The intent here is to get you thinkingabout the professional duties you owe toyour clients and the public. If you are openand honest with your clients, perform yourduties up to professional standards, recordyour actions, and state any limiting condi-tions that may affect your ability toperform these duties; it will become verydifficult for someone to successfully bringa lawsuit against you.

J. David Hucker has spent 35 years inthe tree care industry, is a 10-year TCIAmember and a Registered ConsultingArborist with the American Society ofConsulting Arborists. He owns and oper-ates David Hucker Consulting in Berwyn,Penn., near Philadelphia, where he is reg-ularly requested by the legal communityto offer opinions and testimony regardingthe professional duties of practicingarborists.Please circle 34 on Reader Service Card



One-handed saw injuryturned stomach – kudos!

The November (2007) issue of TCI mag-azine arrived today and when I got to page12, my stomach did a little twist, a shiverran up my spine and my arm twinged. Butactually, those were good things. Photoslike the one accompanying the article onchain saw safety (“The Appropriate Way toUse a Top-Handled Chain Saw in the UK:One-Handed Use of a Chain Saw is NotAcceptable”) are important reminders howquickly your career or your life could get,literally, cut short in just an instant.

In the past I’ve thought that maybe yourAccident Briefs and Safety Forum (com-plete with color pictures) should be thevery first article of every issue as areminder how carelessness, mistakes andignorance can seriously injure or kill you.I’ve personally had a few “near misses”using power equipment that are permanentpersonal reminders that safety comes first.After neatly slicing the top tendons in mythumb with a hand saw, I’ll ALWAYS puton a pair of gloves before using that toolagain!

Trying to save a little money, or a littletime, or a little effort by taking a safetyshortcut? Think again. We are in the busi-ness of removing or reducing hazards thattrees can become in the urban landscape,helping to make our clients safer. If per-sonal safety is as important as technicalknowledge, then your job won’t be a haz-ard to your health.David Fox, CF

Technical services manager

Natural Resource Planning Services, Inc.

Gainesville, Florida

Responding to the one-handed chain saw debate

The question shouldn’t be whether wecan one-hand our chain saws, but whyhaven’t Stihl, Husky and Echo made spe-cial chain saws with half the weight (andmaybe power) of a Stihl 020? Using a lightchain saw, made for one-handing, wouldbe much easier on our wrists and elbows –and safer too.

I am 61 and have been one-handingsince they started making arborist saws,maybe 27 years ago. I only climb part-timenow. I believe one-handed use of my 020Thas been hard on my wrist and elbowjoints. That’s another reason I’d like to seea “PeeWee Pruner” chain saw with a tophandle and an 8-inch, narrower blade to cutup to, say, 5-inches.

Overall, I would say one-handing achain saw is so natural and so useful thatwe should just figure out how to do it safe-ly. I wouldn’t recommend up-cuttingone-handed, and catching with the freehand is risky. Climbing trees with chainsaws is dangerous work. We do it with thatunderstanding. But we should get to useimproved tools. One-handing a nail gunrequires arm strength and care, too.

This photo was taken of me 19 years agowhen I was pruning a tree at the ColoradoUniversity Boulder campus. I still use thismethod, though less frequently. As you cansee from the photo, one-handing is reallyuseful going horizontally out on a limb,reaching to shorten a branch at a pointwhere you couldn’t stand, and leaving ahand free to hang on with. The alternativeis the pole saw – Yum, Yum!

Even though tree care is my secondarybusiness now, I still read your magazine,and appreciate your good work.

As an old-timer who has spent much ofmy life in trees, cutting, I have this briefpiece of advice: Watch every move youmake and stay in the NOW.Mikl Brawner, Harlequin’s Gardens

Nursery and Garden Center

Boulder, Colorado

So, if not one-handed –what is the correct way?

I thought your article did a great job atpointing out why we shouldn’t “hold andcut.” But how are we supposed to maintainproductivity and not damage property?What are the new methods of pruning thatallow us to have two hands on the saw atall times? Thank you for your input, and Iam anxious to hear back from you.Chris Hawkins

Arborist in training

Bangor, Maine

Peter Gerstenberger, senior advisor forsafety, compliance & standards for theTree Care Industry Association, responds:

There isn’t one answer that applies to allsituations. Here are three partial answers:

Use a hand saw – if you can hold abranch with one hand, in many cases youcan cut it efficiently with a hand saw. It’salso a lot less noisy and doesn’t consumefossil fuel.

Finish the cut with a hand saw. Thisrequires experience to know when and howyou can stow the chain saw and finish witha hand saw.

Use simple rigging – you can use a slingtether under the climber’s control or a low-ering line under the ground crew’s control.These simple rigging techniques are fea-tured in TCIA’s rigging videos andelsewhere, I am sure.

Tree Protection Law replyThe last paragraph of the “Tree

Protection Law” article under theWashington in Review section in theNovember 2007 TCI magazine reads:

“Discovery of such offenses should beeasy, the bill sponsor opined, with the vig-ilant nature of abutting neighbors.”

The article talks about a new law inMaine that was passed on September 20,2007, and deals with tree removals alongthe Maine shore land.

I have a problem with vigilant neighbors.Have we forgotten what our foundingfathers fought for? Do we have any free-doms left to make our own choices on ourown property?


Letters & E-mails

Mikl Brawner shows what ANSI stan-

dards and TCIA-supported best

practices say is bad form.


In my estimation, we as tree care profes-sionals, certified arborists, registeredconsulting arborists, etc. should stay awayfrom this type of law and ordinance. Weneed to promote tree care and maintenancebased on the tree, not which governingbody flexes the most muscle.

For example, I recently was requested tolook at a new customer’s shoreline treesalong a nearby lake. The new home hasbeen there about 15 years, and a number oftrees were planted at that time. Now, thewillow tree that engulfs about half of thelot’s shoreline has grown over the top ofthe river birch and bur oak, which are nowquite established. All three species arenative, and it would be easy to recommendremoving two large limbs from the willow(that have grown over the other two trees)and be done.

However, I believe the right thing to doat this time would be to remove the entirewillow. It is very healthy, but is at the stagewhere, sooner than later, will lose a large

limb and/or fall into the water near the pier.The property owner would just as soonremove the willow. This owner has alsoplanted many other trees on the property.Of late, the county zoning personnel havebeen quite “vigilant” about “their” trees,and been outspoken about violations toshoreland tree removals of trees that aren’tdead or dying.

This property owner pays very hightaxes. What it boils down to is some tourist,vigilant neighbor or new zoning officialwanting something they don’t own. Theproperty owner did a good thing a numberof years ago by establishing some othertrees, as the large willow tree would at somepoint need to be replaced. Trees aren’t stat-ic, and we need to be able to maintain ourindependent and professional recommenda-tions based on what we find on site, notwhat we are told should be there.

It is a sad day when we are promotingthe vigilance of neighbors when it comesto private property. If there is a tree or treesthat I happen to like, and would like to seethem around for some time, the best thingI can do as an individual is to buy the prop-erty; period. If the trees in question are onpublicly held land, then the decisionprocess is much different.

There are some people who live alongwaterways, oceans and lakes that like anunimpeded view of the water; while thereare others who prefer only a partial view. Itis not up to us to decide which is better.David Ryan

Tree Releaf

Green Lake, Wisconsin

Is that topping we see inthat photo?

As I was reading the article on mini lifts(“Mini Lifts May Put More Profits WithinEasier Reach,” TCI November 2007),which has a lot of great information, I saw aphoto on page 54 that concerned me. Itappears that the tree, which I’m going tocall a silver poplar, has been pruned. Mybeef is the way it appears to have beenpruned. I may be wrong, but I don’t see a lotof cuts back to laterals and definitely not toany that can assume the terminal role. Itseems that the on-third rule, which I know isjust generally speaking, wasn’t spoke of atall. I see a lot of stub cuts. Just thought I’d

point this out since ANSI standards appearquite a bit in this magazine, as well theyshould. One last thing: did this tree evenneed attention? Sorry about the rant.Jim Mitchell

Chair elect

Missouri Community Forestry Council

Editor’s response: Mr. Mitchell is correct.As he and a couple of other readers point-ed out, the tree appears to have beentopped. This slipped by the editorial andproduction staff. The image was providedby the manufacturer, who responds below:

Somewhere in the outskirts of the smallItalian village of Nogara stands a tree,totally unaware of the attention it has cre-ated 5,000 miles away, much less theverdict that it has not been pruned to cor-rect American tree care industry standards(which is not to say that it is pruned toItalian standards either.).

To fall guilty of this verdict, the poor treewas featured as background to a 63 footHinowa lift, distributed by ReachMaster,Inc. It led to a stream of e-mails/calls to theeditor of this magazine regarding the prun-ing of the tree.

And for a good reason. Let’s not forgetthat the readers of this magazine are high-ly professional tree care practitioners, andconsequently, even product pictures shouldreflect that – something we atReachMaster did not observe properlywhen asking the Italian manufacturer for amarketing picture reflecting the equipmentin a tree care environment in Italy.

Thank you to the readers who noticedthis and thereby demonstrated their com-petence. You’re the people we asmanufacturers are looking for. We apolo-gize for this oversight and, in the wake ofour successful participation in the TCIEXPO show in Hartford, we will now haveseveral opportunities to feature our prod-ucts in front of correctly pruned Americantrees in the future.Ebbe Christensen,

President, ReachMaster, Inc.

Houston, Texas



Send letters and e-mails to:Don Staruk at [email protected]

or TCI, 3 Perimeter Road, Unit 1,Manchester, NH 03103



By David Rattigan

The recent decision by ProgressEnergy Carolinas to remove 50,000trees near transmission lines across

North Carolina and South Carolina may bea sign of things to come for utilities, com-mercial tree care companies and propertyowners.

Progress Energy will pay $30 million toimplement that program in the Carolinasover a three-year period. News of theProgress Energy plan slipped out to thenational media when some residents com-plained about it. But a spokesman forEdison Electric Institute, the utility compa-nies’ association, says that plenty of otherutilities across the country are also taking amore aggressive approach toward keepingrights of way clear for power lines.

The bottom line, and the public relationschallenge for line-clearance companies, isthat the new rules will encourage wideningrights of way, and removing trees ratherthan trimming them.

“The rules have changed, and new feder-al regulations require that the companytake steps to prevent transmission outagescaused by vegetation,” says DavidMcNeill, spokesperson for ProgressEnergy. “These new rules require us tochange the way we maintain trees in thetransmission right of way. We are notremoving all the trees. We are removingthe trees that could interfere with the safeoperation of the line.”

The utility serves 1.4 million customersin the Carolinas, according to McNeill, andmaintains about 6,000 miles of transmis-sion lines. The trees and shrubs that will beleft in the rights of way will be those thatdo not exceed 12 feet at maturity, and don’tinterfere with access or maintenancerequirements.

“Where before we may have been trim-ming back that vegetation, now we areremoving those trees,” McNeill says.

The change is being driven by new fed-eral regulations that convey stiff fines toutility companies in the event of poweroutages caused by vegetation. Those finescould go as high as $1 million per day,McNeill said, a figure confirmed by othersinterviewed for this story.

The changes are not limited to theCarolinas. Utilities nationwide are beingpushed to adopt new standards, which hascreated more work for tree care companiesthat clear rights of way. The goal is to clearout tall trees and widen the corridors fortheir power lines.

It’s a trend that his company has wit-nessed from many utility companies, saysTom Rogers, senior vice president andCOO for Rochester, N.Y.-based LewisTree Service, Inc., a 3,000-employee com-pany that serves the entire East Coast,including the Carolinas.

“All of the major investor-owned utili-ties are increasing their budget formaintenance of transmission lines,” saysRogers, noting that most of the workinvolves widening the rights of ways toinsure greater reliability. The rights of wayare being widened from a few feet to as farout as 40 feet, he adds.

“Worrying about trees on the fringe thatmight fall in is a focus right now,” heexplains. “They’ve done a good job main-taining the floor in the past. The risk now isfrom outside the right of way (with tall treesfalling onto power lines), so they’re goingout and creating a larger right of way.”

The increase in business has created aneed to hire more employees, Rogers con-firms.

Jim Orr, general manager/technical serv-ices for the Asplundh Tree ExpertCompany, headquartered in Willow Grove,

“Where before we mayhave been trimming backthat vegetation, now weare removing thosetrees.”

David McNeill, Progress Energy


Pa., confirmed that it’s a trend his compa-ny is seeing across the country – and inCanada. Asplundh employs approximately20,000 line-clearance employees.

“It’s pretty much universal,” confirmsOrr. “The utilities are looking at every treealong every right of way to consider theissues involved with each.”

Ed Legge, spokesman for the EdisonElectric Institute (whose members serve 71percent of all electric utility customers inthe United States), says that his associationhasn’t collected the information about howindividual utilities are responding to thechallenge, but he notes that the industry isvery aware of the implications of the newfederal standards, which went into effectearlier this year.

“What it means is that there’s no toler-ance,” Legge says. “The short, quick anddirty is that if you’re not in compliancewith keeping transmission lines clear oftrees, you’re going to be fined severely.There’s no real choice, and there’s no wig-gle room in whether we do it or not.”

The regulation changes came as a resultof the great Northeast power outage ofAugust 14, 2003 – which reportedly affect-ed 50 million people and 61,800megawatts of electric load in eight U.S.states and part of Canada. According to thefinal report from the two-country task forcethat investigated the blackout (as reportedin the Edison Electric Institute publicationElectric Perspectives), the total costs relat-ed to the blackout ranged between $4billion and $10 billion. Inadequate clearingof vegetation in rights of way was identi-fied as a cause for the blackout, as it hadbeen for West Coast blackouts in July andAugust of 1996, which impacted a total ofabout 8 million customers.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 set fed-eral reliability standards regulating theelectrical grid, under supervision of theFederal Energy Regulatory Commissionand an “electric reliability organization”called the North American ElectricReliability Corporation, which was createdin 2006. To achieve its mission of reliabili-ty and security for the bulk power systemin North America, NERC developed,audits and enforces reliability standards.

“The bill corrects the provision of thelaw that made electric reliability standardsoptional instead of mandatory,” President

George Bush said in a 2005 speech, jokingthat, “Most of you probably consider itmandatory that the lights come on when youflip a switch. Now the utility companies willhave to consider it mandatory, as well.”

While federal regulations are pushing theutilities, another factor driving the change isAmericans’ consumption of electricity.

“There is a continuing lowering of toler-ance for power outages as the customer,whether it’s a business or a residential con-sumer, becomes more and more wired andhas more and more electric-powereddevices that are becoming integral to dailyliving,” Legge says. Orr notes that whenthere is a severe power outage, the lack ofelectricity can impact people’s lives prettyseverely as furnaces lose blowers, waterpumps stop working, and refrigerators canno longer maintain food.

The low tolerance for outages is coupledwith the fact that the increased energy loadmay stress the delivery system for power.

“With more customers using more elec-

tricity, that increases the load on our exist-ing transmission lines,” McNeill says.“When lines are loaded to capacity, it cancause the lines to sag. In the past, trees andvegetation that were in the right of waymight not have been close to the lines, butnow some of these trees have continued togrow and if the lines were to sag due to fullcapacity, you can risk the possibility ofpower outages.”

The actual work of clearing utility linesis frequently shared by the arborists andcrews working for the utility companies,and by tree care companies contracted bythe utility companies to keep the rights ofway cleared. Tree care workers who doclearance maintenance are specially, andextensively, trained for that task, Orr notes.“Every one needs to be line-clearance cer-tified by his or her employer,” he says.

While McNeill confirmed the $30 mil-lion figure for the three-year plan toremove trees, he did not say how much ofa budget increase that represents from pre-vious years. The removal of trees mightlead some to expect a reduction in the needfor arborists’ services in the future, butMcNeill says that the utility is not certainwhat its specific future needs will be.

“That might be a good question threeyears from now,” he says.

Rogers theorized that there would begreater maintenance needs in the future,because of the wider corridors.

“It could be a long-term thing, or a one-time bubble,” Orr says. “Or maybe a littleof both.”

Utility companies are sensitive to main-taining good community relations.McNeill says that while there is no ques-tion about the legal rights of the utility totrim or remove vegetation as needed, thecompany has met with neighbors andtalked with its customers about its position.It has encouraged abutters to plant low-growing trees and shrubs that add beauty,privacy or buffering without impacting thepower lines.

“Trees are part of the natural beauty of theCarolinas, and we’re not pleased that wehave to remove trees near our transmissionlines,” McNeill laments. “However, therules have changed. Our goal is to minimizethe impact, while complying with the rules.”

Dave Rattigan is a freelance writer liv-ing in Beverly, Massachusetts.

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Electrical Hazards AwarenessProgram (EHAP)


By Rebecca Fater

Walking his 10-year-old to ele-mentary school every day, Tom“Ace” Gallagher of Hanover

Township, N.J, felt confident his son wassafe. Until, one day, he looked up.

“There were a couple of obvious deadbranches hanging over the path and a cou-ple dead trees,” says Gallagher, owner ofAce Gallagher Stump Grinding ServicesLLC in Whippany. “I said to my wife, ‘Idon’t want to sound like a typical parent.But this is a really dangerous path.’”

Gallagher turned his concern into action.He wrote a letter to Hanover Townshipsuperintendent Scott Pepper and volun-teered his company’s services. Gallagherdidn’t realize it at the time, but the result-ing hours of donated work was theunofficial launching of what has nowgrown into the volunteer program knownlocally as “One Day, One School.”

“My policy is, if everybody just gives alittle bit of their time it will make a really

big difference,” explains Gallagher, whohopes the program will catch on with moretree companies and communities in NewJersey and beyond. “It only takes one guylike me in the tree business to look up andsay, ‘This path is horrendous’.”

Since that initial project, Gallagher hasturned the idea into a full-fledged volunteereffort aimed at cleaning up school groundsso they are safer and cleaner, at no cost tothe district. His partner in volunteerism isRick Close, district manager of the MorrisPlains, N.J., office of The Davey TreeExpert Company.

Also a father of a school-aged child,Close warmed quickly to the One Day, OneSchool concept when Gallagherapproached him with the idea earlier thisyear.

“Something like this rings a bell withalmost anybody who is responsible forschool communities,” Close says. “Mostmunicipal grounds people probably are nottuned into the idea of looking at trees interms of safety. They’re probably more

involved with mowing the grass on theproperty. They may not see the necessity ofmaintaining the trees on the property.”

That necessity was emphasized inFlorham Park, N.J., last June, where ScottEveland, township councilman and mayor-elect, heard about the One Day, One

Fallen limbs pile up along the property line.

Branching Out

While the overgrowth and debris surely was an eyesore, itconstited a safety hazard.

Dead and rotting tree limbs lie among undergrowth adjacent to the Ridgedale Middle School baseball field in FlorhamPark, N.J. About a week before the cleanup, winds blew a roughly 12-inch diameter limb down near the bleachers.

School concept and was determined toconduct an event locally. He broughtGallagher to a baseball field by theRidgedale Middle School and showed himthe mess of overgrown trees, brush andtrash bags overflowing with garbage.

Gallagher agreed to the project and theyscheduled an early June Saturday for thejob – seemingly just in time. About a weekbefore the appointed cleanup, high windssent a tree limb measuring about one footin diameter crashing down by the bleacherswhere parents usually sit to cheer on theirstudent athletes.

“We heard a crack. We looked up andwatched one of the dead trees crack andfall directly into the center of the field,”recalls William Ronzitti, superintendent ofFlorham Park Public Schools, who wit-nessed the event. “If there had beenchildren or families there – this was suchan unsafe situation. It only affirmed that wehad to do this.”

Later that week, Gallagher and Closeshowed up with their trucks, crews andequipment. Eveland, shirtsleeves rolled up,arrived with student and teacher volunteersand trucks from the town’s public worksdepartment. Ronzitti fired up a grill andcooked up hot dogs for the workers. A localhardware store donated rakes.

Close remembers that the target ballfieldneeded all the help it could get.

“They were old trees, mainly maples andoaks, that had probably never been caredfor,” he says. “It was something that hadnever been addressed.”

The eight-hour day involved safety prun-ing of nearly 40 trees, Close says. Whileclimbers pruned and cut, Close draggedbrush away from the field and Gallagherground the stumps of between 15 and 20trees that were removed completely. Afterthe crews completed a section of trees, stu-dent volunteers moved in to clean up.

“The before and after was amazing,”Eveland says. “On the municipal side, wegot the (local) board of education involvedand a bunch of student volunteers, which isawesome to see. They weren’t just leaningon rakes. They were out there, workinghard, investing themselves in their ownschool, poison ivy and everything.”

The amount of work performed that dayprobably equaled between $10,000 and$15,000 in labor and equipment costs, he

estimates.“This was a tremendous way to clean up

the school with some necessary work thatdid not cost the taxpayers a dime,” saysEveland.

“It would have been too expensive for usto undertake this year,” says Ronzitti. “Itwasn’t in our budget. And that’s not fair tothis community, especially the children, tohave such beautiful new fields but no placewhere their families can come watchthem.”

Aside from the financial boon, One Day,One School provided Florham Park stu-dents with an invaluable civics lesson aswell, he adds.

“One of the incidental benefits for us is itbrought everybody here together as ateam,” says Ronzitti, who became the dis-trict’s superintendent approximately a yearand a half ago. “One of the things I’ve triedto do is build a community team. This oneeffort on that Saturday went a long way.We were in this together. We did it togeth-er. It was just a perfect day.”

The sight of eighth graders picking upempty soda bottles from the schoolgrounds was a memorable one forGallagher. “Now, they’re probably notgoing to throw a soda bottle there,” hesays. “And if one of their peers does,they’ll say, ‘Hey, pick that up.’”

Gallagher is planning another One Day,One School event in Hanover Township forearly winter and another event in FlorhamPark next spring, but he hopes it is only thebeginning. He plans to compile a writtenprogram and make it available for otherinterested communities, and tree care com-panies, as a resource.

“It’s a program to make a school betterlooking and much safer. Safety is the nameof the game,” he says. “We’re able-bodied,we’re very fortunate. How hard is it for us

Almost the same view as on facing page, but after the cleanup at Ridgedale Middle School.

The area along the driveway into the school and ballfieldsis now clear of debris and dangerous limbs and trees.



to give one or two days a year?”Despite the willing spirit, the budget,

inevitably, remains the bottom line. Closehopes that, in the future, local businessesmay be willing to sponsor tree companieslike Davey and Ace financially. These“partners” would ensure that the crewswould be paid for their time while he and

Gallagher continued offering cost-free treeservices to the schools that badly need it.

“If I went into a community and said,‘Hey, we’ll safety-prune your trees and itwill cost you this much money,’ the projectwould probably be shelved for years,”Close says. “I can’t volunteer my treecrews on a regular basis. What we’re look-

ing at is sponsorships for the next timefrom stores or businesses to cover the costof my crew. My time would be volun-teered.”

Eveland, who will assume mayoralduties in January, will continue looking forways to grow One Day, One School local-ly.

“It was such a tremendous success that Ithink it’s only going to get bigger,” he pre-dicts. “We took an area of one of theseschools and totally cleaned it up. It was thespringboard for us to continue doing this,not only here in Florham Park, but in otherschool districts as well.”

Gallagher hopes the energy his idea hasgenerated will continue to spark volun-teerism as word travels.

“Imagine if this is nationwide? Therewould be companies all over the countrydonating a Saturday,” he says. “It will beawesome and it won’t cost anything.”

Rebecca Fater is a freelance writer liv-ing in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Some of those involved in the One Day, One School project at Ridgedale Middle School included, from left, Deputy PoliceChief Pat Montuore, Dr. William Ronzitti, Township Councilman and Mayor-elect Scott Eveland; Tom “Ace” Gallagher,Davey’s Ric Close, and John Csatlos.



Taken from published reports.

Tree trimmer caught in palmtree fronds dies

A tree trimmer found dead in palm treein San Diego on the morning of November16, 2007, had apparently climbed the treethe day before to trim the dead fronds andwas likely crushed and suffocated after thefronds came loose and collapsed on top ofhim.

He was found under the fronds in thetree the next morning and declared dead atthe scene. Emergency crews needed aboutthree hours to remove the man’s body fromthe tree.

The identity of the victim, a Fallbrook,Calif., resident in his 30s, was not immedi-ately released pending notification of hisfamily.

The tree trimmer had reportedly “shim-mied up the tree using a rope” and climbedunderneath the palm fronds, which fell ontop of him, according to The San DiegoUnion-Tribune.

Tree worker crushed inbucket by falling limbs

Brad Preston Wolfe, 24, of Federalsburg,Maryland, was killed October 25, 2007,when he was struck by large branches thatcame loose from a crane while trimming atree outside a Severna Park, Md.

Mr. Wolfe, part of a tree and lawn serv-ice company crew, was standing in a liftbasket connected to a crane about 10:30a.m. while he and the small crew cut andremoved tree branches from a large tree.The crew removed a large branch about 70feet up and secured it with two cables thatwere hooked to the crane ball, according toa report in the Capital Gazette inAnnapolis, Md.

But the branch apparently came losefaster than expected and the two securitycables snapped, causing the large limb tofall. The biggest branch missed Mr. Wolfebut several smaller branches crashed on topof him. He was wearing a safety helmet,glasses, gloves, and hearing protection,according to the report.

He collapsed in the basket and wasbleeding from the head. He also was com-plaining of stomach and neck pains. Crewsfrom the Arnold and Jones fire stationsremoved Mr. Wolfe from the basket andstabilized him before he was taken byambulance to Harbour Hospital Center inBaltimore. He was pronounced dead onarrival due to severe head trauma and mul-tiple broken ribs.

Ground worker electrocutedtouching bucket truck

A ground worker was killed October 22,2007, while working with a crew clearingtrees around power lines in East Haddam,Connecticut.

Peter Sokolovsky, 30, of Brooklyn,Conn, was working as part of a tree servicecrew hired by Connecticut Light andPower Company to trim trees in the area,cutting back trees and branches so thatpower lines could be transferred to newpoles.

Sokolovsky was standing on theground, next to the truck, and his partnerwas up in the aerial bucket. The partnerhad just finished making the first of hiscuts when electricity surged through theraised boom and coursed through thetruck. Sokolovsky was electrocuted

when he touched the truck, according tothe published report in The HartfordCourant. He was pronounced dead at thescene. His partner, badly shaken, wastaken to Middlesex Hospital’s emer-gency clinic in Marlborough to beevaluated.

The father of a 4-year-old boy and a 2-month-old girl, Sokolovsky had beenworking for the company for two weeks.

City tree-trimmer killed infall from bucket

A veteran tree trimmer for the city ofTuscaloosa, Alabama, died October 24,2007, after falling from a bucket truckwhile trimming trees in the city.

Charles A. Hobson, 56, a 16-yearemployee of the Tuscaloosa Department ofTransportation, was pronounced dead atDCH Regional Medical Center shortlyafter the accident.

Hobson was not using the required safe-ty harness at the time of the accident,according to a Dateline Alabama follow-up report.

“Safety equipment was present,” MayorWalt Maddox told the Tuscaloosa CityCouncil. “It wasn’t being utilized.”

Hobson had been trimming trees for 25years, according to one published report.


Accident Briefs

Graphic compiled from reports gathered by, or submitted to, TCIA.

Fall into wood chipper killstree trimmer

An Orange County, California, tree trim-mer feeding branches into a wood chipperin Tustin, Calif., was pulled into themachine and killed November 7, 2007. TheLos Angeles Times identified the victim asGabriel Gonzales-Ferrer, 24.

Gonzales-Ferrer was one of threeworkers trimming trees and removingdebris from a private residence. One wasin the tree and the other hauling debris.Gonzalez was standing at the back end ofthe chipper, throwing branches into itwith his co-workers nearby. Then one ofthem looked over, and he was gone,according to the report.

Police called to the residential area justafter 4 p.m. found the landscape work-er’s body inside the wood chipper, thereport said. Authorities took the woodchipper and the truck to which it was

attached to a parking structure at theOrange County coroner’s office, where itwas dismantled and Gonzales-Ferrer’sremains removed. An autopsy was sched-uled today to confirm the cause of deathand rule out anything else, such aswhether alcohol or drugs were involved.

Tree service climber dieswhen tree falls

A Winchester, Virginia, man diedNovember 7, 2007, after an accident whilehe was clearing trees at a private resortcommunity Lansdowne, Virginia.

Tammy Ray Cave, 37, an employee of atree service company, was working on atree and was approximately 50 feet abovethe ground. The tree apparently broke nearthe bottom causing Cave to fall to theground. Part of the tree came down on topof the victim.

Cave was pronounced dead a short time

later at a nearby hospital.

Tractor mishap crushesworker

Ramon Gonzalez, 41, an employee for alandscaping company, was crushed by atractor November 12, 2007, while workingat golf course in East Manatee, Florida,near Bradenton.

Gonzalez and other workers had beenmoving palm trees on the course. After theaccident, the four-wheel-drive boom trac-tor lay on its side on a golf cart path, nearGonzalez and some uprooted trees.

He and another co-worker where walk-ing alongside the tractor, as the driver triedto drive across a sharp incline on the carpath. The tractor overturned and crushedGonzalez.

Gonzalez worked as an equipment oper-ator for more than a year with the company,according to the Bradenton Herald.




By Rick Howland

Funny how things change over time.About a century after the Model Twas designed to run on either gaso-

line or alcohol, here we are with the largestcorn crop since World War II and scientiststrying to find ways to wring horsepowerout of a renewable source. And wasn’t itonly a few years ago, say, the turn of themillennium, that tree debris was a costlywaste product?

Well, the times do change. Just talk toSteve Sylvester, founder and CEO of a wellestablished, 32-year-old business, S&STree and Horticultural Specialists in SouthSaint Paul, Minn. His story best describesthe change in that part of the business andthe opportunities – large and small – thatlie ahead for a tree care professional in justabout any market.

“Eight years ago I had to pay to get rid ofwood chips,” says the owner of theregion’s largest family owned tree carebusiness, which now boasts 72 employees.“We still have Dutch elm disease here anda lot of city contracts, so part of our treeproduction continues to be removal of dis-eased elm.” Just about eight years ago, henotes, S&S was paying $125,000 to$145,000 a year to dispose of branches and

logs. “It wasn’t so bad, because we couldpass that cost on to the customer, but it stillmade me sick to make out that check!”

It was about that time Sylvester gottogether with a local landscape wholesaler.“In those days, colored wood mulch wasstill in its infancy. Landscape architectswere still pretty much still into rocks andclean (raw, unprocessed) wood chips.There was really no machine to convertchips into mulch, especially coloredmulch, but I had begun hearing about otherareas in the US – especially in the East –trying to come up with ways to use woodwaste from tree removal,” says Sylvester.

As he describes it, the process took acouple of years of playing around with arecipe with the landscape wholesaler andthen discovering a machine, in his case aRotochopper, for processing and color-ing mulch. “We were actually able tomake a market up here in Minnesota forour products.”

Concurrent with the demand for stylized,designer mulch, there has grown a demandin the local downtown St. Paul electric dis-trict for a ground wood product that can beburned for heating and power production.

The demand is so high now forprocessed waste that “ironically, as we gotto 2007, we are seeing some wood waste

yards having to pay for raw waste productto process!” Sylvester says.

The S&S process typically is to use aVermeer tub grinder first to reduce largevolumes of wood waste into rough mulch,then feed that through a Rotochopper MC-256 horizontal grinder to grind and colorthe rough mulch into a finished saleablecolored mulch.

“We market two types of mulch – chipsand shred,” says Sylvester. One techniqueis to let shredded materials from logs sit onclean blacktopped acreage (no soil or rocksto compromise the mix). S&S runs logsthrough a Vermeer tub grinder and themulch sits on the blacktop for a year,turned occasionally “to keep it cooking,”until it turns a natural deep brown.

Materials re-run through theRotochopper for mulch are sold under thebrand names New England Mulch, finemulch that “locks” together and won’twash away, and Double Grind, which is100 percent mulch with no color or dye.“They are our own recipes, and we can’tmake them fast enough,” Sylvester adds.

Mulch can come in a variety of colors –gold, brown, red and black. The companyalso produces a specialty mix, a non-col-ored “playground” mulch certified by theDetroit Testing Labs for its cushionability


With wood grinders, it is definitely a case of what goes in being directlyrelated to what comes out – prior to reprocessing. Here, Bandit’s Model4680 Beast Recycler, with a 1,200-hp engine, processes large diametertrees, logs and stumps .

With wood grinders, it is definitely a case of what goes in being directlyrelated to what comes out – prior to reprocessing. Here, Bandit’s Model4680 Beast Recycler, with a 1,200-hp engine, processes large diametertrees, logs and stumps .

for kids. Sylvester says the one-time$2,500 cost to certify mulch for play-ground use is well worth it, since manyplaygrounds require certified mulchesrequested by the local school district.That’s also a sell-out,” he says. “Actually,we sell out of most (mulch) product wehave.”

“The good news is that we have createda huge market, and now we buy waste fromsmaller tree companies because we can’tkeep up with our own product needs. Themarket has turned full circle in eightyears.”

What that says to the smaller tree careguy is that the take-down debris has value,even if you can’t process it yourself!

“Who would think we would be buyingtree waste when we were paying to get ridof it?” Sylvester poses. The fact is thatwhat was once a $125,000 cost is now amillion dollar revenue stream for this $7million tree care company.

Customizing the output

Vermeer, one of the major equipmentmakers in this market, concurs when it saysthere are “ample opportunities” to find newmarkets for processed green and woodwaste, but warns that before jumping intoone of these markets there are a number ofissues to consider.

“First and foremost, end-users requirethat the contractor deliver the processedgreen or wood waste to exact specifica-tions,” says Duane Harthoorn withVermeer. “These specifications can dictatethe type of equipment you use in the reduc-tion process.”

For example, Harthoorn points out, mulchshould not contain long spears of wood, andplayground mulch typically needs to be inthe form of a nugget. The cogeneration (bio-fuel) industry has stricter guidelines. Thefeeding systems sometimes require a consis-tent length or shape of processed woodwaste for optimal feeding and BTU value.This market also requires that fines (theundersized, inferior grindings that are notgood as biomass fuel), be removed from theprocessed wood waste, which may requirethe use of a trommel screen.

According to Harthoorn, meeting mulchand cogeneration specifications requiressome advance planning. Taking a wholetree and trying to create the desired end

product in the first pass may be difficultbecause you are not working with a uni-form product to begin with.

“Each tree species is unique and willproduce a different end product,” saysHarthoorn. “This inconsistency has a bigeffect on the final product.”

Various tree species will react differentlyto grinding, most often because the grain ofthe wood can make a widely varying prod-uct. In order to get the desired end product,one pass may require the use of a smallerscreen. This can lead to re-circulation andcreates fines.

The goal should be to use a larger screenon the first pass to create a consistent six-

inch sized product. Then a smaller screencan be used for processing the materials asecond time to attain the desired end prod-uct. “There are contractors who areadamant about attaining the end product inone pass,” says Harthoorn. “In those caseswe recommend a custom screen design,such as a step screen.” A step screen isdesigned to stop re-circulation of the prod-uct. The screen features baffles that preventoversized pieces from flowing through thescreen. Instead they are split again by therotor into a smaller size that can then passthough the screen. Sometimes a screen iscustom-built with holes in special shapessuch as an oval, square or diamond. Thiscan make a big difference with somespecies of trees.

“Vermeer builds custom screens to helpcontractors achieve the desired end prod-uct,” says Harthoorn. “We design screensthat will provide an end product that meetstheir specifications.” Harthoorn adds thatthere is no cookie cutter approach to pro-cessing wood waste. Each application andtree species is different and may require adifferent strategy and screen.

Speaking of different strategies, with oilcosting close to $100 a barrel, wood chipsfor bio fuel (translation: furnaces) are gain-ing in popularity and price.

Jason Showers is in charge of Northeastcommercial sales for Morbark, whichrecently launched the Typhoon 20, a newmachine dedicated as a biomass chipper at$85,000 (without the loader). The Typhoonfeatures a 20-inch capacity chipper which,


Taking a whole tree and trying to create the desired end product in the first pass may be difficult because you are notworking with a uniform product to begin with, according to Vermeer’s Duane Harthoorn.

A screen on a Vermeer HG6000TX horizontal grinder. Usea smaller screen processing the materials a second timeto attain the desired end product.


Showers says, is ideal for land clearerswanting to chip product to a manageablesize before taking it to a chip dump facility.The high capacity machine “came out” atTCI EXPO last year. “This year, we intro-duced the loaderized version,” he says.

The Typhoon 20 chips waste into bio-fuel aggregate and, as Showers notes,“There is a BIG market in the Northeast for

biomass energies. It’s a time when it’sdesirable to go out and create biomassagain – and we’re getting more per ton thanever.” While costs vary per region,Showers and others say the time is right toget an attractive price for a good end prod-uct – up to $35 a ton.

Morbark also makes mulch equipmentwith three different applications for grind-

ing mulch. Typically, a tree care pro willdump chips at a central facility that willturn the raw chips into mulch. Morbarkoffers three types of colorizing units: drypowder (a Morbark-built system), foam orliquid (an auxiliary system also byMorbark). Typically, Showers says, materi-al is run through a preliminary grindingstep then to a smaller screen to make finermulch, then through the colorizer. “We cando everything in one step now,” he notes.

Bandit offers five horizontal grinders,according to Jerry Morey, president. BeastRecyclers reduce material using a con-trolled cutting and splitting action asopposed to the beating action of traditionalgrinders.

“The difference is best described in com-paring an axe to a sledge hammer – whichwould you choose to chop down a tree?”Morey asks. “The smoothness of theprocess adds life to the unit and reducesmaintenance. Ground material is containedinside the grinding chamber. Debris is notthrown from the machine and fine materi-als created in the grinding process are


Morbark recently launched the Typhoon 20, a new, 20-inch capacity machine dedicated as a biomass chipper.


mostly contained in the mill, limiting theamount of dust and debris that is dis-charged around the machine,” he says

“Our improved teeth and cutter bodiesimprove the overall value of the processedmaterial. Two different types of teeth areoften used in combination to maximizeperformance and deliver a specific endproduct,” he explains. Teeth are selectedbased on the material being processed, the

amount of contaminants in the material andthe size of the desired end-product. Cuttingteeth produce a blocky-type product whilesplitters produce a more shredded-typeproduct. “Cutting and splitting teeth areideal for big material while splitting andgrinding teeth are known for their depend-ability,” Morey says.

What all this means in the new world oftrash to treasure tree debris is that various

sizes of internal screens allow the operatorto regulate the end product, which hasproven ideal for mulch, compost, fuel forwood-fire boilers, and animal bedding.

For mulch coloration, Bandit machinescan be equipped with the Color Critter IIattachment, an economical way to producehigh-quality, rich-looking mulch that willbring top dollar. According to Morey, “TheColor Critter II uses a dry, granular color-ing pigment with an electronicallycontrolled metering system that operatesoff the Beast’s electronic controls. Thisensures the right amount of water and pig-ment flow.”

“We are in the process of developing anew mulch coloring system, fully integrat-ed into the Beast’s construction. We expectto release the new system to the public inearly 2008.”

The Bandit lineup includes the newModel 1680 ‘Sharptooth’ Beast Recycler,for small land-clearing operations and treeservices looking to dispose of brush andtree limbs on site. The Model 2680 com-pact, heavy-duty grinder is easy to



DuraTech’s 3010 tracked tub grinder has a dual-screen setup that controls final product size.


transport and excellent for harvesting log-ging slash and mill waste. The Model 3680Beast Recycler is for high production oper-ations with great portability, and willproduce as much as 450 cubic yards perhour, depending on the material beingprocessed. The Model 4680 BeastRecycler is especially effective for pro-cessing large diameter trees, logs andstumps and will process as much as 800cubic yards per hour. And the Model 5680Beast Recycler, Bandit’s most productivegrinder, can be equipped with engineoptions up to 1,200-hp and will process biglogs and stumps with ease. Finally, a deal-er in Maine just sold Bandit’s new Model3590 whole tree chipper to one of thelargest mulch producers in the Northeastafter just running it twice – which speaks tothe power of this machine, says Morey.

Jamie Kramlich is sales coordinator at

DuraTech Industries International. Hesays, “Our mainline unit is a tub grinderthat can take raw product – stumps, treesand green waste – and grind it into fin-ished, shredded material. The hammermill pounds material and a dual-screensetup determines final product size. Anoperator can change material sizes withscreens of from 1/8-inch up to 6-inch by 9-inch chunks.

“Land clearers put in the big screen toreduce material so it can be regroundlater,” Kramlich says. “These machines areon tracks so they can get to hard-to-reachspaces.

A consideration for anyone consideringa capital expenditure like this is that “thesemachines range from $160,000 to a halfmillion dollars. Throughput depends on themachine size. A smaller unit can put outfive to 10 cubic yards an hour,” saysKramlich. “That’s a broad spectrum due toscreen size and the type of green waste youchop up. If you keep your loader busy andkeep the grinder full, you’ll obviously getmore out of your grinder.”

We caught up with Vince Hundt, co-founder of Rotochopper, Inc., for his take onthe industry over the past 17 years. “When Istarted, there was no home for urban woodwaste. In the mid ’90s, I participated withother companies by introducing colormulching capability to increase the appetite

for consumer mulch. In the ’90s, it was easyto make mulch from old palettes and truck-ing company wood waste.”

That became hard to come by, heexplains, “so we turned to the tree careindustry and introduced in 2002 the CP118specifically for tree care professionals. Weimmediately found a willing market for afinished mulch product. Tree care guysnow have a marketable material. The ironyis that he’s likely selling back (value-addedmulch) to the same person he charged totake down the tree! And it’s not uncommonfor owners to accept (and be paid to takein) tree waste from others.”

Top-of-the-line mulch customizers run$100,000 and up. But with a busy machinedoing 50 to 200 yards an hour – dependingon the size of the machine – and mulchselling for $35 a yard, the investment maybe worth a second look.

Colorbiotics develops and markets thecolor dies as well as the equipment for pro-cessing the end product, both inline orseparately, according to the company’sKent Rotert. The equipment ranges fromtheir CM200 or Infusion color and watermetering pumps that mount right on thegrinder, up to Sahara X-Series of stand-alone units that process from 150- to400-yards-per-hour of colored material.

“The Sahara is designed to meter andmix colorant and water into the mulch foran optimal colored mulch using the leastamount of water,” says Rotert.

Colorbiotics’ dies, while not 100 percentorganic, are “environmentally friendly,”Rotert adds. Rotert also points out that theraw material source is a key factor of end-product quality for all colored mulchproducts. Dark, materials tend to yielddark, rich shades while light materials tendto yield brighter shades.

The equipment and processes are avail-able for customizing the color, size, shape,texture and even biological content (seerelated story on page 8) of mulch and othergrinder output. New markets for greenwaste and renewable resources are openingalmost daily. The result is that what wasonce an item on the expense side of the bal-ance sheet for most tree care companieshas been, or soon will be, erased and, formany if not all, replaced with a growingrevenue item. Now that is a great note toend the year on, isn’t it?



A Rotochopper CP-118 turning wood chips into red goldold at a rate of 75 yards per hour.



By Sarah Magee

Agrand experiment in pest eradica-tion is underway in California. Ifit doesn’t work, losses to plant-

based industries in California alone arepredicted to be in the billions, and thepest’s eventual range would likely includeup to 80 percent of the United States.

The pest is the light brown apple moth(Epiphyas postvittana), “LBAM” for short.It was first detected last February inCalifornia. It had not previously beenfound anywhere in North America. Thistiny moth – it measures from about ¼ inchto ½ inch in length – is native to Australia.It has already been transported to andbecome established in New Zealand, NewCaledonia, Great Britain, Ireland andHawaii.

LBAM’s range of hosts includes land-scape trees, ornamental shrubs, fruit treesand fruit, and some vegetables, accordingto a report from the University ofCalifornia Integrated Pest ManagementProgram. The report says the larvae areknown to feed on 250 plant species andmay infest oak, willow, poplar, cotton-wood, alder, pine and eucalyptus, as wellas many types of fruit trees.

“In California it may encounter addition-al hosts it was not previously known toinfest,” the report states. And, it may feedon far more species.

“In New Zealand they call it the ‘lightbrown everything moth,’” says Steve Lyle,director of public affairs for the CaliforniaDepartment of Food and Agriculture. “Itshost range may be 1,000 to 2,000 plants.It’s a threat not just to agriculture but to theforest canopy and the environment. It willeat virtually any plant.”

LBAM’s arrival in California was hardlya surprise. In 2003, Robert C. Venette, aresearch biologist with the U.S. ForestService in St. Paul, Minn., and an adjunctassociate professor in the Department ofEntomology at the University ofMinnesota, led a team that conducted a riskassessment study of the LBAM for theU.S. Department of Agriculture’s AnimalHealth Plant Inspection Service (APHIS).

“It was a concern at the time because ofthe economic damage this insect hascaused, especially to fruit producers inEurope, Australia and New Zealand.Reports from these areas suggested up to85 percent of fruits could be damaged,”Venette says.

Venette’s group concluded that “lightbrown apple moth would find plenty offood and suitable climate across the U.S.,”

he says. “We also predicted that it would besomewhat difficult to detect and identify.We recognized California was most at riskbased on interception records from APHIS.(Typically, when APHIS found light brownapple moth, the shipment was destined forCalifornia.) Regrettably, most of those pre-dictions have turned out to be correct.”

APHIS and the CDFA now publish adaily “Joint Situation Report” on theLBAM. As of Nov. 1, the insect had beenpositively identified in 11 California coun-ties, but was principally found in SantaCruz (8,698 confirmed positives), SanFrancisco (2,139) and Monterey (746)counties.

“The major change since we completedour risk assessment is that the moth nowhas a foothold in the U.S.,” Venette says.“Now, communities not only have to worryabout the moth coming from overseas (thefocus of our original assessment), but thereis also concern over the potential for move-ment by horticultural plants produced inCalifornia for sale across the country. Iknow the state of Minnesota has thoughtabout the need for trade restrictions orother protections to ensure that moth does

Contrary to its name, the light brown apple moth’s colors can vary and may include dark brown, pale yellow, and blackishor purplish shades. Photo courtesy of Natasha Wright, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,Bugwood.org

LBAM pupae (10 mm long). Photo by Greg Baker.


not arrive here. I suspect other states arehaving the same discussions.”

In May, Mexico suspended importationof commodities from the 11 counties whereLBAM has been identified. Canada imple-mented restrictions in June. Then inSeptember, California and the federal gov-ernment designated the affected counties asquarantined areas to control the movementof items that might harbor the LBAM.

Eradication efforts

Once LBAM was identified as present inNorth America, APHIS and the CDFAassembled a technical working group ofscientists from the U.S., Australia and NewZealand that met in May.

“They made the recommendation to goahead with eradication,” says LarryHawkins, spokesman for the U.S.Department of Agriculture.

The recommended eradication programincludes:� Limiting and containing the LBAM

population to the present distribution� Monitoring to appraise changes in dis-

tribution and numbers� Reduction of higher-density popula-

tions� Suppression of low-density popula-

tions at the edges of quarantined areasTo reduce high-density populations, the

panel recommended pheromone matingdisruption as the primary method. “Whenthe males don’t mate, lifespans pass with-out reproduction,” Lyle explains.

The pheromone, which is specific toLBAM and doesn’t affect any otherinsects, is being applied aerially in amicroencapsulated, slow-release form.

Additionally, the insecticide Bacillusthuringiensis (Bt) is being used to enhancethe effectiveness of mating disruption inthe more heavily infested locations and onoutlying infestations. Outlying infestationsare moth finds several miles away fromother finds and therefore areas that will notbe naturally reinfested.

Where infestations are found in nurs-eries, regulations recommend treatmentwith the fast-acting insecticide chlorpyrifosbefore plant materials can be shipped.

This appears to be the first time a matingdisruption strategy has been tried as theprimary method to eradicate a pest. Canthis novel approach work to eradicate

LBAM? The answer depends on whom you ask. A key scientist in California’s fight to

control the Mediterranean fruit fly sayseradication is impossible. James Carey, aprofessor of entomology at the Universityof California-Davis and known for hisresearch on the medfly, which in the 1980sthreatened California’s citrus industry, tolda reporter for the Monterey Herald that theprogram is really motivated by a desire tostave off the dire economic consequencesto the state from quarantines and embar-goes that would take effect were the state toconcede the LBAM was not eradicable.

“This thing is so widespread there is noway they are going to eradicate it,” Careyinsisted.

CDFA disagrees. “It does appear that

LBAM covers a large geographical area,but it is a relatively young, new infesta-tion,” Lyle counters. “The technicalworking group made recommendations onwhat they believed will work.”

Asked if there was a political agendainvolved, Lyle says, “I would say we arefollowing the recommendations of a groupof scientists. In other [countries] whereLBAM is established, it was discovered fartoo late for eradication to be attempted andthe method being tried is brand new as itrelies on a new pheromone. Here we havean opportunity,” he says.

If eradication doesn’t work, “manage-ment of the pest will move to a traditionalIPM program,” according to the Universityof California report.

Several TCIA members contacted inconnection with this story and located inthe California counties with the greatestinfestations said they had not had anydirect experience with the LBAM – yet.

If the pheromone disruption programproves ineffective, “you’ll just have a lot ofconfused males in the population – sort oflike humans,” joked arborist BrianJacobson of Smith Tree Service in Carmel,Calif.

“From a bigger picture, as humans wehave brought all kinds of changes to theplanet, including changes in atmosphericchemistry, oceanic chemistry and the nextbiggest change is movement of biologicalmaterials,” Jacobson says. “We have radi-cally accelerated the movement of speciesto new areas. I wonder what humans willthink 100,000 years from now when theylook back on this time.”

Sarah Magee is a freelance writer whoresides in Providence, Kentucky.

Summer-generation LBAM caterpillar feeding on maturinggrapes. Photo by Greg Baker.

The light brown apple moth’s(LBAM) name is something of a mis-nomer as its colors can vary and mayinclude dark brown, pale yellow, andblackish or purplish shades. Only afew experts can positively identify it.The adult moths live but a few weeksand can fly, at the most, about 2,000feet, although most fly no further than330 feet.

The larva go through several devel-opmental stages and measure onlyabout ½ inch long at maturity. The lar-vae make silken shelters from whichthey feed and, in later stages, webleaves together or leaves to fruit. Atthis time, no one can positively identi-fy the larvae.

The pupal stage occurs in a sheltermade from rolled up leaves.

LBAM larvae are present for mostof the year and stages of developmentmay overlap.

In trees, the larvae are more com-monly found in the lower half andcentral part of the tree, closer to thetrunk. In shrubs they are found mostlyon the developing leaves on branchterminals. Buds of deciduous hostplants are vulnerable in the winter andearly spring.

Biology of the lightbrown apple moth


John Kerns insists TCIA Accreditation isdoing for tree care companies today what

the certified arborist credential did for the treecare employee back in the 1990s. The certifiedarborist credential created a level of proficien-cy for individuals, while Accreditation hasbecome a standard for best business practices.

“Accreditation looks at all of the differentaspects of a business – knowledge, safetytraining, consumer dispute resolution, howcontracts are written, proper insurances andall of the rest,” says Kerns. “We have a toolthat shows companies the way. It says to thepublic, ‘This a company you can trust.’Accreditation recently opened the door for usto a major account. One of my national com-petitors lost the account, and the selling pointwas our Accreditation.”

John Kerns, along with his brother, Robert,owns Kerns Brothers Tree Service andLandscaping in Wilmington, Delaware. SusanKerns, John’s wife of 37 years, is the officemanager.

In business since 1973, they will be cele-brating 35 years in business in 2008. Theyhave 26 full-time employees. The business mixis about 60 percent residential, 30 percentcommercial and 10 percent municipal or statework. Tree maintenance comprises about 75percent of the work, with removals 15 percentand plant health care 10 percent.

Three brothers started the business; one left

after three years and the other two did most ofthe work themselves for about 10 years. Asthey started to take on employees in the 1980s,they saw the benefit in 1988 of joining TCIA,then NAA.

When John knew it was time to seekAccreditation, he looked atthe process as a way to con-quer their two biggestchallenges.

“Keeping up with theindustry regulations is No. 1,”he says. “They’re constantlychanging. Securing goodemployees who are lookingfor a long-term commitment,a career, is No. 2. In thisindustry, employees will jump to a less desir-able company if the pay is slightly higher, eventhough the benefits are less. Or it may be thatsomebody offers to pay them under-the-table.The professional image of the tree care indus-try in this country still has a long way to go.Certainly Accreditation is a step in the rightdirection.”

Susan Kerns is in charge of new employeeorientation. She notes that new hires areimpressed with the training and other thingsKerns does, and they also like the way every-thing is laid out in an organized and openmanner – per Accreditation guidelines.

“They don’t seem to find that at other com-

panies,” she says. “I think our employees takea lot of pride in working for an accreditedcompany,” she insists.

As a result, they fit Accreditation into theirmarketing mix.

“We were the first company accredited inDelaware and are still the onlyaccredited company inDelaware,” says John.

“It has become a marketingtool, a good way of demon-strating professionalism in theeyes of the public. It’s outsideproof, a safeguard for theconsumer. It’s not just JohnKerns saying ‘I have a profes-sional company.’ It is

becoming a tool that will make our industrymuch more professional.”

When talking to clients on the phone andexplaining Accreditation, Susan says that theyappreciate having someone on their propertythey can trust. All the Kerns’ sales reps areCertified Arborists, and Michael J. Hadley,Kerns safety director, is Delaware’s only CTSP– Certified Tree Care Safety Professional.

Kerns markets through Yellow Pages and assponsor of a garden clinic radio program onSaturday mornings. They also have a companynewsletter three times a year, and a Web site.A lot of business comes from referrals.

“The Better Business Bureau is an excellent

Kerns Draws Business from AccreditationTwenty-five of Kerns Brothers’ 26 employees (we wonder who took the picture?) managed to get into this company photo. Susan and John Kerns are at far right. Robert “Bob” Kerns is inthe first row at far left, kneeling.

source of advertising, too,” says John. “Wewere the winners of the state Better BusinessBureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics for2006. We were also the Delaware StateChamber of Commerce Superstars in BusinessAward of Excellence winner in 2006. And Ithink a lot of that had to do with ourAccreditation.”

How do they set themselves apart fromcompetition?

“I always like to say we don’t have any com-petition, but we do in reality,” admits John.“We compete with three national tree carecompanies in this area, only one of which isaccredited.”

He says professional affiliations, education,training, a great benefits package and theirsafety program in particular are things that setthem apart.

“I also like to think that we have an old-fash-ioned attitude where we treat every client as ifthey were a $100,000-a-year account. Thatattitude travels down from the salesman to theemployee who is going to show up to do thework,” he says.

Kerns Brothers recently completed the re-Accreditation process fairly easily. The initialprocess took “about a year and a half” to com-plete. John put a salesman in charge who leftthe company after starting the process. WhenSusan, a former teacher and student adviser,retired from education and came to work in theoffice, she was able to pull it all together.

“If Susan was here when we initially appliedfor Accreditation, we’d have probably had it

done in a couple of months,” he says. “Wewere doing a lot of the right things, but wedidn’t have a written company handbook. Weweren’t putting down on paper some of thetraining processes. Accreditation has made usmuch more efficient, and it’s made ouremployees much more safety conscious byseeing that there is more of a paper trail.”

“We’re a much more organized companynow than before, and we operate much moreefficiently,” he says. “Two or three years ago Iwould have said that we were a very efficientcompany, but Accreditation has helped us tobe even more even efficient. Things run a lotmore smoothly.”

Susan agrees: “We were doing a good job,and there’s always room for improvement, butnow I really feel we’re doing a great job!Having TCIA help us in the process of scruti-nizing everything helps new ideas come out. Itenergizes you to implement new things.”

The most time consuming part of gettingaccredited for Kerns was putting together aformal business plan. They’d always had one,but this process helped them put together amuch more complete one, John says.

“We learned that we can always do better. Itis easier for someone on the outside to pointout strengths and weaknesses that you may nothave even considered or been aware of. It’s aprocess in which any company can grow and, inthe end, be a better company for it.”

“It has opened doors for us, and it contin-ues to open doors,” stresses John. “I see in thefuture that municipalities or large corporate

accounts are going to require Accreditation. Itputs them a little bit further away from liabili-ty.”

John plans to continue to grow his owncompany, particularly his PHC division, andfor Accreditation to help him do that. He isalso looking for others to get on board.

“I am going to recommend Accreditation tomy competitors because it is going to take thetree care industry up to another level, wherepeople see that it’s not just somebody with achain saw cutting a limb off, it is somebodywho has knowledge and uses that knowledgeto care for their trees.”


Michael J. Hadley, left, Kerns Brothers’ safety director, with John Kerns on the show floor of TCI EXPO. Hadley was the firstCertified Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP) in the state of Delaware.



The U.S. Department of Labor’sOccupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) recently

announced a final rule on employer-paidpersonal protective equipment (PPE).Under the rule, all PPE, with a few excep-tions, will be provided at no cost to theemployee.

The rule, first proposed in 1999, waspublished in the Federal RegisterNovember 15, 2007.

OSHA anticipates that this rule willhave substantial safety benefits that willresult in more than 21,000 fewer occupa-tional injuries per year. “Employeesexposed to safety and health hazards mayneed to wear personal protective equip-ment to be protected from injury, illnessand death caused by exposure to thosehazards,” says Assistant Secretary ofLabor for OSHA Ed Foulke. “This final

rule will clarify who is responsible forpaying for PPE, which OSHA anticipateswill lead to greater compliance.”

The provisions in OSHA standards thatrequire PPE generally state that theemployer is to provide such PPE.However, some of these provisions donot specify that the employer is to pro-vide such PPE at no cost to theemployee. In this rulemaking, OSHA isrequiring employers to pay for the PPEprovided, with exceptions for specificitems.

The rule does not require employers toprovide PPE where none has beenrequired before. Instead, the rule merelystipulates that the employer must pay forrequired PPE, except in the limited casesspecified in the standard.

Tree care employers should not be luredinto thinking that they can circumventPPE use even when they feel employeeswork safely without it. The OSHA fieldcompliance officer inspecting the treecrew is the one to ultimately determinewhether there are hazards present thatPPE could reduce or eliminate. Typicallythe hazards encountered in a tree pruningor removal operation are consideredpotentially life-threatening and according-ly the failure to protect against thesehazards is by definition a “serious” viola-tion.

A single PPE infraction has historicallyled to a two-part citation: employer failureto assess the hazards, and employer fail-ure to provide PPE. With this new rule inplace, it is anticipated that a third itemwill be added and an additional fine leviedin the typical citation. In other words, thecost of non-compliance just went up 50percent.

There is a victory in the name of rea-sonableness for the tree care employer.The final PPE rule contains a few excep-tions for ordinary safety-toed footwear,ordinary prescription safety eyewear, log-ging boots and ordinary clothing andweather-related gear. Over the years, asthis rule was being shaped, the Tree CareIndustry Association submitted commentsand even testified at OSHA hearings. Oneof the tenets of our comments was that theemployer should not be obligated to payfor items that, while protective in nature,were essentially employee’s personalitems of clothing. Obviously, the messagewas heard.

The rule provides an enforcement dead-line of May 15, 2008, six months from therule’s promulgation, to allow employerstime to change their existing PPE pay-ment policies.

Peter Gerstenberger is senior advisorfor safety, compliance & standards for theTree Care Industry Association.

Washington in ReviewBy Peter Gerstenberger

The rule merely stipulates that the employer must payfor required PPE, except in the limited cases specifiedin the standard.





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Duties will include: estimating & scheduling crews inan established branch office. Certified Arborist &computer literacy is a must. Compensation includesfamily medical, dental, retirement plan, commission,vehicle & salary of $750/wk. Relocation expenses pro-vided to qualified candidate. Please contact VinceWinkler, Winkler’s Tree Service, (708) 544-1219 [email protected].

ValleyCrest Tree Care Services

Provides award-winning arborist services on a widerange of properties throughout the nation. Ratherthan focusing on isolated management techniques,our certified arborists approach the tree as an entirebiological system. We have full-time opportunitiesavailable for our following positions: Account Manager; Operations Manager; BusinessDeveloper/Estimator, Crew Leader/Foreman; CDLDriver; Production Specialists; Spray Technicians.Branches Include: Livermore, Sacramento, Santa Ana,Gardena, Ventura, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Tampa, Sarasota,Venice, Orlando, FL; Atlanta, GA.For consideration, please e-mail resumes to:[email protected] or fax to (818) 225-6895.

Ready for a Change?

www.GreenIndustry-Jobs.com



VTMA – Virginia Tree Experts

Rapidly growing municipal and utility vegetative man-agement company based on the East Coast is seekingprofessional, career-minded individuals for the follow-ing positions: District Managers, Safety Manager, HRManager, General Forman, Crew Leaders, BucketOperators and Ground Crew. We have immediate open-ings in: VA, MD, NJ, KT, WV, FL, CT, MS, TX, AL, GA, TN,and the entire east coast. The company provides capa-ble, energetic employees great opportunity foradvancement. Benefits available: Top pay + OT,Vacation, Life Ins., Health Ins., Dental, CompanyVehicle, moving expense, continuing education andhousing programs. Having a CDL license, bilingual,computer skills, management degree or horticulturaldegree a major plus. Training Provided, Experiencerequired. We are a Drug Free Work Place and EqualOpportunity Employer. Letters and Resume to (757)392-0095 or e-mail [email protected]. Call(757) 397-4040 ext. 212.

Forestry Foreman

The City of Winter Park, FL, is seeking applicants forthe position of Forestry Foreman. Winter Park is therecipient of the Tree City USA & Growth Award fromthe National Arbor Day Foundation. This positionrequires leadership & job organizational skills inorder to supervise & train crews, manage inventory,keep accurate records, operate heavy equipment &work hands-on with crews. High school/GED, 3 yrs’experience in all phases of tree care & maintenancework required. Supervisory experience preferred. Mustbe an ISA certified arborist & have, or be able toobtain, a FL CDL Class B license. Salary range:$34,365-$52,904. Full job description & applicationonline at www.cityofwinterpark.org or apply 401 ParkAvenue So., Winter Park, FL 32789.

Ira Wickes/Arborists

Rockland County-based firm since 1929 seeks quali-fied individuals with experience. Arborists/SalesReps, Office Staff, Crew Leaders, Climbers, SprayTechs (IPM, PHC, Lawn). Great benefit packageincludes 401(k) matching, advancement opportuni-ties, EOE. Check us out on the Web at irawickes.com.E-mail your resume to [email protected]; fax (845)354-3475, or snail mail us at Ira Wickes/Arborists, 11McNamara Road, Spring Valley, NY 10977.

Kramer Tree Specialists, West Chicago, IL

Has full-time positions open for Plant Health CareTechnicians. Training & continuing education provid-ed; valid driver’s license required, CDL a plus.Company benefits include Health Insurance, ProfitSharing, 401(k) & Production Bonus weekly! [email protected] or phone (630) 562-0160. Fax(630) 562-0871.

Atlanta, GA, Arborist

Opportunity for an ISA certified arborist to join agrowing tree care and removal company. Join theteam and be part of our expanding services. We offercompetitive salary, paid vacation, group insuranceand retirement benefits/401(k). [email protected] or phone (770)921-8227; Fax (770) 932-5150.

Climb Higher with Rainbow Treecare!

Minnesota’s premier treecare service is looking forexperienced Climbers who are committed to qualityand protecting the Urban Forest. If you have 2-3years’ experience climbing/pruning and an educationin forestry, contact us today to learn more. Send resume to [email protected]; fax (952) 252-4720; or call Greg at (952) 252-0550.




Expanding Northeast NJ Tree Co.

Needs climbers & groundsmen. Year-round work.Certified Arborist & CDL a plus, driver’s license amust. Top pay for right person. Send salary require-ments w/resume to [email protected].

Arborist/Climber w/driver’s license.

Denver area. Established tree service. Year-roundemployment. Prune/plant/remove & snow plowing. Nospraying. Long-term relationship with top pay. DuboisTree Service, Inc. (303) 456-6678.

Residential Sales Manager

Lucas Tree Experts has been a recognized leader innorthern New England for more than 81 years, provid-ing high quality tree and landscape services toutilities, commercial and residential customers. Weare expanding to our South Carolina territory of oper-ation and are accepting resumes for individuals withexperience and interest in Residential Sales. Servicesinclude: Residential Tree Work, Lawncare and PlantHealthcare. Lucas offers a high quality of work life,competitive salary w/comprehensive benefit packageto include relocation assistance if necessary. Mail resume w/cover letter to Lucas Tree Experts, PO Box 958, Portland, ME 04104, attn: HumanResources; fax (207) 797-0752 or e-mail: [email protected]


Continues to grow in the Western U.S. & Canada.Immediate openings for Experienced Foremen, TreeClimbers, IPM Monitors & Arborist Reps in SanFrancisco Bay area, Phoenix, Tucson and BritishColumbia, Canada, offices. Paid vacation, holidays,medical, dental, 401(k), training and continuing edu-cation. Applicant must be safe, reliable,customer-service & career oriented. CDL & ISA certifi-cations are a plus. Fax or e-mail your resume to (415)472-8651 or [email protected].

For People Who Love Trees – www.arborguard.com

Arborguard Tree Specialists, with offices in Atlantaand Augusta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina,seeks experienced sales arborists, crew leaders,climbers and plant health care technicians whodemonstrate a passion for excellence. Arborguardmaintains an exciting and highly spirited team cul-ture that is focused on a positive experience foremployees and clients alike. A decision to join our team will ensure year-roundwork for a prestigious and high-end client base, over100 hours of annual paid training, an OSHA compli-ant work environment, paid vacation and personaldays, paid holidays, paid healthcare and 401(k). If you seek personal and professional development,appreciation, recognition and career opportunities,you may have found them. To explore this uniqueopportunity, contact:Dennis Tourangeau, Director of Operations,Arborguard, P. O. Box 477, Avondale Estates, GA30002, or send fax to (404) 294-0090, or [email protected].

Live and work at the Beach!

The top tree care firm in beautiful Wilmington, NC, isaccepting applications for tree workers, climbers,experienced crew leaders & spray/fertilization techs.Excellent salary & benefits. E-mail [email protected].




Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care

Seeking professionals who are passionate about whatthey do. If you’re motivated, experienced and dedicat-ed to service, you’re just the type of person we want.Swingle has been a leader in the Denver market since1947, and we’ve since expanded to include theNorthern Colorado/Ft. Collins area. We’re looking toadd key members to our already outstanding team inboth locations:

• Sales Representatives • Trim Field Supervisor • Certified Arborists with Removal Experience • PHC Qualified Supervisors • Other outdoor production positions also available

Swingle offers year-round employment plus topindustry wages and benefits including 401(k) withcompany match. We also provide great opportunitiesfor college graduates and student interns! If you area results-oriented professional and looking for acareer opportunity with a growing company, we wantto talk to you! Visit our Web site at www.swingle-tree.com to submit an online application or sendresume and salary history to Dave Vine at: Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care, 8585 E. Warren Ave., Denver, CO 80231; Phone: 1-888-266-6629, Fax (303) 337-0157; E-mail:[email protected]. When it comes to your pas-sion, choose Swingle.


Continues to grow in the south with immediate open-ings for experienced Sales Arborist/Representatives,experienced Foremen, IPM Technicians, and treeclimbers in the Carolinas, Georgia, East Tenn, & No.Fla. Benefits include paid vacation, holidays, med-ical, dental, 401(k), training & continuing education.Applicant must be reliable, customer-service & careeroriented. CDL a plus. Fax or e-mail your resume to(770) 414-9762; [email protected];www.bartlett.com

Sales representative/Arborist

Enjoy success in Big Sky country by joining the onlyaccredited tree service in Montana. Bozeman TreeService & Christmas Decor Inc. is currently seeking anindividual who will help our company grow relation-ships with new & existing clients. Sales experienceI.S.A. Cert. or Horticulture Exp., & knowledge of RockyMountain plants important. Wage D.O.E., 401(k)w/profit sharing & paid health insurance. Fax or e-mail resume [email protected] (406)586-3352.

Production Managers/Climbers/Sales People

Min. 5 yrs.’ exp. Climbers must prune w/o spikes. Year-round, salary, pd vacation/health, help moving.Virginia, near Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, VA [email protected], (757) 595-8733.

Tree Climbers/Trimmers/Crew Leaders/Turf Care/Plant Healthcare

S&S Tree and Horticultural Specialists, Inc., located inSouth St. Paul, MN, is a well established, accredited,family-owned business for over 31 years. We continueto seek only the very best employees who are motivat-ed, ambitious and interested in long-termemployment to enhance our team of professionals. Avalid DL, with CDL certification is required. ISA certi-fied arborists are preferred with previous greenindustry experience. Full benefits package availablewith excellent income potential. Fax your resume withreferences to Debbie at: (651) 451-1787 or e-mail to:[email protected].

Arborist Enterprises Inc., PA – Experienced Arborist Representatives

A highly reputable, award winning, TCIA Accredited,full-service arboricultural co. serving residential &commercial clients throughout SE PA seeking the bestexperienced individuals. Min. req. include: ISAarborist cert, 5+ years of arboricultural sales, excep-tional client service & a valid driver’s license.Base salary + comm w/annual 6-figure overallincome expected. Full benefits package, expenseaccount, co. vehicle for business hrs use (not for com-muting) & relocation assistance. Forward a completeresumé to [email protected], subjectline: Arborist Representative Position, or fax (717)393-9366.

Established Tree & Landscape Corp in Amherst MA

Seeks qualified experienced climbers, groundsmen,landscapers for year-round, full-time work. Good benefits. CDL license preferred. ContactShumwayandsons.com or call (413) 256-0261.

All Paradise Tree Service, Oahu, HI

Seeking experienced climber. Valid driver’s license amust, certification is a +. Medical, dental, vision &RX benefits offered. Pay is commensurate to experi-ence. Call (808) 696-5323. Come join us in Paradise!

Tree Climber Specialist

TCIA accredited – Broad Oak Tree Care has openingsfor high-end, year-round work in Milford, NH. Seecomplete job posting: www.broadoaktree.com, e-mail:[email protected] or call (603) 673-1513.

Florasearch, Inc.

25 years performing key employee searches for thetree care industry. Retained basis only. Candidatecontact welcome, confidential & free. 1740 Lk.Markham Rd., Sanford FL 32771, (407) 320-8177,[email protected] www.florasearch.com

TREECO Tree Service

San Francisco Bay Area – A successful 17-year-oldbusiness has dynamic opportunities for experiencedarborists to join us as:

• Account Managers • ForepersonCall for info (510) 293-6966, or e-mail [email protected].



Tamarack Tree Service is expanding its Canadianoperations

Looking for qualified Utility Line Clearance personnelfor all positions, from Grounds People to OperationManagers. Come join our team and experience thegreat adventures of the great north. Must have aclean record and driver’s license. Journeymen treetrimmers can earn up to $31.82/hr plus overtime. Allinterested can call Matt Randi at (315) 323-2303 or1-800-858-0437.

EQUIPMENTFOR SALE

2 Spray Trucks for Sale

1991 GMC 5 spd 6 liter with 60,000 miles on newengine. Excellent mechanical condition 14' flat bedwith (3) spray tanks 35 GPM hydro pump, PTO driven,(2) Hannay reels with hose ready to spray! $9,500.1988 GMC 366 5 spd. 30,000 miles on new engineexcellent mechanical condition 14' flat bed with (3)spray tanks, 35 GPM hydro pump, PTO driven (2)Hannay reels with hose ready to spray! $8,000 Call:(631) 549-5100 E-mail: [email protected]

For Sale

2-96 Ford 800 diesel w/hyd brakes-60'Aerial Lift1-97 Ford 800 diesel w/hyd brakes-60'Aerial Lift93 Rayco Stump Cutter w/trailer2000 Chevy Truck w/spray unit and winch(814) 677-5939.

For Sale

95 F800 L-shape tool boxes, chip body with removabletops, 10-foot Western plow 26,000 GVW 76,500 miles.$12,500 or BO.95 F800 L-shape tool boxes, chip body with removabletops, 10-foot Western plow 26,000 GVW 31,000 miles.$13,500 or BO.97 F800 flat-bed dump, live hydraulics, new 8 yardair flow salter, 10-foot Western plow 29,000 GVW68,000 miles. $19,500 or BO.99 GMC 7500 with 1700 JBT crane with Jib 118-foot,33,000 GWV 34,000 miles. $45.000 or BO.97 International 20-yard chip body with L-shape toolboxes, 10-foot Western plow, 33,000 GVW 56,000miles. $13,500 or BO. Call (973) 448-9595.

Big Ox Pintle

I have a new condition Big Ox pintle trailer, dump bed2100 loader winch, tool box, fork attachment, rearramps. We no longer need, never on road!! Used toload firewood processor! Must sell, so this is a greatdeal. Priced new over $50,000, asking $35,000 orbest offer. Call (860) 633-1119.



For even more up to dateHelp Wanted ads, check out TCIA’s

Web classifieds at www.tcia.org

Allied Equipment of Wisconsin

Local Rentals, Bucket Trucks to 70 ft., StumpGrinders, Chippers, aerial lift parts & service. Raycoparts, OEM Stump’r Guard. We rent Rayco HydraStumpers/Forestry Mowers. www.alliedutilityequip-ment.com 1-800-303-0269.

1990 GMC forestry bucket truck

366 gas F.I. 66,000 mi 5-speed trans 1100-22 tiresAsplundh LR50 55’ working height with pony motorRecently serviced boom. Body no rust, mint condition.$22,000 OBO. NY (914) 447-8882.

Vermeer BC1000 chipper

2006, 500 hours, great condition, $18,000. Call (603)476-5445 or e-mail at [email protected].

For Sale

2002 1230A Vermeer chipper, 470 hrs., ex. cond., allser. records, $17,000.00. Jones Bros. Tree Co. (901)377-8733.

Grand Slam Tree Equipment

Chippers, stump grinders, loaders & attachments,bucket trucks, chip trucks, tub & horizontal grinders,land-clearing equipment. Shipping & financing avail-able. www.grandslamtree.com (269) 792-0609.Grand Rapids, MI, area.

Ropes, Ropes, Ropes

All types and brands of professional arborist climbing, lowering and rope accessories at warehouseprices. Call for current price list. Visa, MC, AX. Small Ad– Big Savings, since 1958. 1-800-873-3203.

Tamarack Forestry is selling bucket trucks surplus

Aerial Lift of CT Buckets mounted on 1996-1999 Ford,GMC, & Int’l trucks. All trucks are diesel, averagemiles are 50,000 & booms are in excellent shape,prices from $24,000-$34,000. Call Chad at (315)323-2198 or 1-800-858-0437.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Would You Like to Close More Sales and IncreaseRevenue by 30 percent or More?Complete job management! Tree ManagementSystems, Inc. delivers cutting edge software specifi-cally designed to help tree care companies close moresales, create repeat business, reduce cost and moni-tor crew productivity. Visit our Web sitewww.ArborGold.com for a FREE in-depth video demoor call 1-800-933-1955 today for more information.



Advertise used equipment inthe April issue of

TCI Tree Equipment Locator1-800-733-2622

[email protected]

Hardware and software by an arborist for thearborist.

For more information about the industry’s best-sellingpackage, call or write Arbor Computer Systems, POBox 548, Westport, CT 06881-0548. Phone: (203)226-4335; Web site: www.arborcomputer.com; e-mail:[email protected].

ArborSoftWorx is the industry’s leading businessmanagement software and hardware that boostssales with its DataSync Mobile Office feature; pro-vides anytime-anywhere access to critical data;improves staff productivity; provides the highest levelof depth and breadth in data capture and soundinformation for business decisions – all you demandin a management solution. Call today to learn moreabout the power and flexibility that ArborSoftWorxdelivers. 1-800-49-ARBOR. www.ArborSoftWorx.com.

MISCELLANEOUS

Advanced Landscape Plant IPM PHC Short Course

January 7-11, 2008For registration information contact:

Debbie Wilhoit, Department of Entomology, 4112 Plant Sciences Bldg,

University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 Tel: (301) 405-3913

e-mail: [email protected]: http://www.raupplab.umd.edu/confer

ences/AdvLandscape

BUSINESSES FOR SALEEstablished tree business for sale in Beautiful NC Mountains

Excellent reputation & member of BBB. Very profitable& growing. $85,000 includes equipment, client list &phone #s of business. (828) 684-3595 or [email protected].

Central Oregon Tree Service For Sale

Well established tree service, 30 years of client history. Turnkey including equipment, customers,contracts, reliable experienced staff and leased yard and office. Come live in the most desirable area in the Pacific Northwest. See our Web site atwww.sunrivertreeservice.com Call (541) 410-6456.

So. Central Indiana

Tree Service 22 years in business. Pruning, spraying,removals, feeding, tree injections & diagnostics. 3chem. licenses: ornamental, turf and right-of-way.Some landscaping/tree planting. Best year $225,000.Owner ready to retire will help w/ transition for up to1 year. Located in beautiful rural area adjacent toState & Federal lands for hunting, fishing, recreation.See our work at www.overlookcabins.com Interestedparties e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800-208-8444.

Small, locally owned, tree service for sale in grow-ing Southern Chester County, PA

Territory includes the prestigious Chadds Ford andLandenberg, PA areas. We have an excellent name andreputation in the region and enjoy a large call volumeon referrals and repeat business alone. This solid foun-dation has the potential for unlimited growth in arapidly expanding community. Includes tree truck,chipper, saws and 1-ton pickup truck. $125,000 CallChris for more information at: (610) 476-4628.



Want to grow or improve your business? Learn how atWinter Management Conference

Feb. 10-14, 2008Westin Aruba Resort & Spa, Aruba

TCI classified ads work!Call 1-800-733-2622

E-mail to [email protected]


By Keith Pancake

Iget a big laugh when I think back tomy original climbing system. Throughtrials filled with many errors, I have

learned what to look for to build a systemthat makes me a more productive and effi-cient arborist.

Let me start by telling you that the infor-mation you are about to read has beentested and tested – I have the receipts toprove it. My intention is to help you wadethrough the vast array of products andinformation so that you may plot a courseto building your own climbing system.

As arborists, we are experiencing evolu-tion at a quantum-leap pace wheninnovative climbers can create systems thatare functional works of art. Many of youare working on finely tuned systems thatyou are very comfortable in; however,there are those of you who are just gettingstarted or have been climbing for sometime and are in need of an update to boostyour productivity. For those of you in thelatter group, the choices you have to makewhen building your climbing system canbe quite confusing.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Don’tfeel that you have to climb on the samesystem your coworkers do, even if theyhave been using it for decades. The place tostart is with your fellow arborists and theirsuppliers. Many arborists have beenthrough their own trials and errors and aremore than happy to share their experienceand knowledge with you. Several onlineforums allow open discussions betweenarborists that can offer advice and informa-tion, including opinions that areindependent and unbiased about gear andtechnique.

To get started, you need a blueprint foryour system. Start a list and bounce ideasoff other climbers. New gear catalogs andtrade shows always give me a case of“can’t-live-without-that-piece-of-gear”complex. One way to avoid this is differen-tiating between what you want and whatyou need. When building a system, youshould think about being as comfortable aspossible while still being smooth and pro-ductive in the tree. Climbing styles differ,and this is usually the primary factor thatdictates personal preference. Your compa-ny profile may also come into play. Forexample, are you focusing on large

removals that require you to carry rigginggear aloft, or are you primarily climbingmature trees to administer a crown clean-ing? For starters, identify your climbingstyle and personal preferences for gear andtake a look at the type of work your com-pany does.

Due to varying temperatures and a com-pany’s policy on uniforms, I will onlybriefly touch on things to look for in cloth-ing. As a rule of thumb, loose and baggyclothes can get snagged in the tree andmake your saddle and gear harder toaccess, posing a safety hazard. Clothesshould be rugged and snug without com-


Rich Hattier demonstrating an anchor bridge system on the TCI EXPO trade show floor in November. All photos courtesy ofNick Crawford.

Climbing Equipment

promising flexibility. There are a tremen-dous amount of fibers that meet or exceedthese criteria. Clothing and outerwear is anarea where the sky is the limit, from com-fortable blue jeans to nano tech and micropile fabrics designed specifically forarborists –which are well worth the money.What you wear is truly a matter of person-al preference and trying different clothes.Don’t forget your personal protectiveequipment (PPE): helmets, glasses, glovesand ear protection are a crucial part ofevery arborist’s outfit.

There are numerous ways to get off theground and into the office. First you haveto set a line. I prefer the throw bag. Thisactivity can be as frustrating as driving agolf ball, and remarkably similar. The

weighted bags come in weights from 8 to24 ounces made in various shapes andfrom a couple of different materials.Weighted bags seem to be preferred to allother “throw balls.” There are also a num-ber of throw-line materials that come indifferent diameters, from 1.75 to 3 mil-limeters and up. Tensile strength and linedurability is a consideration. Before climb-ing you may need to break off dead snags.

Lightweight combinations will throwhigher, but they don’t come down as easily,especially in heavy foliage. You may alsowant to try different line materials to feeland see how they fly and react in the tree. Isuggest trying many different line/bagcombinations until you find the one you areconsistent with. Again, you should look tofellow arborists for opinions.

For storage and easy access, any of thefolding boxes or cubes work well and takeup miniscule space. I have seen everythingfrom five-gallon buckets to collapsiblelaundry hampers used, but the collapsiblecubes are the easiest to use as they are leastclumsy and bulky. Mastering the throw bag

will get you in the tree faster and help pro-ductivity. Having the right combination isthe first step.

So now you can isolate a crotch from 50feet away on the first throw – what are youwaiting for? Break out that new 150-foothank of rope and climb.

Climbing lines keep getting better,lighter and smaller. Advances in rope tech-nology have given us ropes that have atensile strength (average load required tobreak rope) of 6,000 pounds and are 11millimeters in diameter. The big thing withrope, and all climbing gear for that matter,is the ANSI Z133.1-2006 Safety

Requirements for Arboriculture – or “theZ.” The standard states that climbing linesshall be made of synthetic materials with aminimum tensile strength of 5,400 poundsor 24 kilonewtons. (1kn = 224.8 pounds).

Z133 goes on to state that the manufac-turer must identify the line specifically fortree climbing, ruling out smaller rockclimbing lines, but makes an exception forthe smaller diameter arborist lines. Theway a rope feels in your hand and how itperforms in your particular climbing sys-tem are two primary factors whenshopping. I have really come to enjoy thedouble-braid construction for strength andfeel. The cover and core tend to share theload. My productivity increased tremen-dously when I switched from ½-inchkernmantle to a smaller double-braid.

Climbers really start to show how differ-ent they are when it comes to how theyattach to the rope. If your climbing systemis traditional or you are using an eye-in-eyePrusik, I recommend trying multiple cordand rope combinations. You should alsoexperiment with various hitches to reallydial in your system. Remember to go lowand slow when trying new combinationsand hitches. The cordage types vary asmuch, if not more, as ropes. The materialsare very durable, heat resistant-up to 900degrees, and have high tensile strength –some come in just under 9,000 pounds.

If you’re a splicer, you can really cus-tomize your eye-in-eye length and make asmoother system. If you can’t splice, buyspliced lines or make friends with a splicer.There are also many mechanical devicesfor ascending and positioning. If you planon using one, check compatibility withyour rope size. Work-positioning lanyardscan be purchased complete or can be cus-


Stretch Air climbing pants.

Various rope construction types and sizes, from 11mm to1/2 inch.

Folding throw-line cubes.

Two different types and sizes of throw bags (Buckingham,left, and Harrison Rocket).

tom made from a variety of cords and hard-ware.

When you start looking into hardware,hold on to your wallet. You should reallyknow what you need.

Every gear bag should have some kindof friction management device. There aremany to choose from in every price range.I carry a custom-spliced device made from½-inch Tenex and aluminum rings withalternate colored tubular webbing sewnover it for visibility. Reducing friction willincrease your endurance and prolong thelife of your rope, not to mention that factthat it’s better for the tree.

Another thing to remember is the jinglejangle effect – that is the noise you make inthe tree when you have an excess of hard-ware on your saddle. Do you really need allthose gadgets? When was the last time youused each one? Most good productionclimbers go light: a couple of slings, amicro pulley or something similar to tendslack and set redirects, an extra biner ortwo, and something to descend with. If youdon’t want to carry a figure eight, try an

HMS carabiner – the shape works wellwith a Munter hitch.

Another necessity is a good hand sawand scabbard. Again, many makes of sawsare out there, so consider blade length andgrip size when deciding on your personalpreference. I prefer a leg scabbard becauseI’m short and don’t like things hanging thatlow off my saddle.

There are a lot of devices that can makeyour climb easier and save you energy. Ihighly recommend speaking to someonewho has the device you’re looking at priorto purchasing. When looking at carabiners,remember to check the ANSI Z133 stan-dard. Shapes, size and gate type vary, sofind the style that works for you. I look forone-handed operation and key-lockedgates, which have less tendency to snag onmy eye-in-eye and saddle. Small accessorybiners are great for attaching gear to yoursaddle. They take up less space and helpstreamline a climber’s silhouette in thetree. Micro pulleys and other similar pieces

give your system a tremendous advantageby making your movements fluid and effi-cient. Swivels also reduce friction, andfrustration, by keeping your line free oftwists and attach directly to some saddles.

If footlocking isn’t a staple in yourclimbing repertoire, foot and hand ascen-ders are out there in many styles and priceranges that will advance you quickly andefficiently into the canopy. There are evencomplete mechanical ascender systems onthe market. Remember, as with othermechanical positioning devices, check forrope compatibility before buying.

Innovative climbers mix and match gearto create some awesome systems. Just bearin mind extensive testing is critical to keepyou safe.

Up to now I have urged caution againstbuying excessive gear. When it comes toyour saddle, don’t cheat yourself by tryingto skimp on cost. Your climbing systemrevolves around the saddle. Light saddlesthat are fully adjustable and come loadedwith options are out there for a reasonableprice. Try the model on before you pur-chase, if you can find a fellow climber whohas one. Climbing competitions, tradeshows and recreational climbing groupsare great places to try on gear. If you haveto order before trying it on, verify returnpolicy. Make sure you get the right fit –check leg and waist sizes.

When looking for saddles consider thebridge style and attachment points alongwith fit and padding. For me, leg loopsoffer superior movement in the tree whencompared to batted-style seats. Suspensionbridges are available that make reachingout and moving in the tree more fluid thantraditional fixed attachment points. A goodsaddle will pay for itself in comfort andproductivity.

Use this article as a guide to get theprocess rolling of building your climbingsystem. You will find other climbers alongthe way who will offer more detailedadvice on particular brands and pieces ofgear. Those of you who do the research andexperimentation will find your experiencein the tree to be much more productive andenjoyable. Good luck and stay safe.

Keith Pancake is a certifiedarborist/utility specialist/tree worker work-ing for Broad Oak Tree and Shrub Care inMilford, N.H.


CMI Micro pulley.

Treemagineer saddle and climbing system.

Double-locking, bent-gate HMS, Tri Act HMS, and BallLock Am'D aluminum carabiners.


TCIA’s “Risk of Invasion: FirstDetector Training on Invasive Insect

Species” workshop at TCI EXPO 2007was a successful venture between TCIAand the USDA Forest Service,Northeastern Area.

Fifty-five attendees were given an inter-esting and informative three-hour sessionby Dr. Mike Raupp, professor of entomol-ogy and extension specialist at theUniversity of Maryland. Raupp did a greatjob of gearing the session toward arboristswho are helping to educate other arboristsas well as consumers.

Attendees were asked to fill out a TopicKnowledge and Work Practice Evaluation(quiz) before the workshop began to assesstheir current knowledge of invasiveinsects. A follow-up evaluation will be sentout to the attendees within 30 days toassess their retention of new conceptsdelivered at the workshop.

Raupp reviewed the contents of theworkshop packet, which included a set oflaminated field identification cards forFirst Detectors to use in the field. An 8 ½-inch x 11-inch flyer gives a little moredetail about the insects and how to spotthem. Raupp also discussed the “FirstDetector Field Training Guide,” whichdefines who is a First Detector, what stepsto take in looking for invasive insects, andhow to report an infestation. The TrainingGuide also offers a short test for readers toevaluate their own current identificationskills. The final piece was the eight-page“Trainer’s Manual” that instructed atten-dees how to train other First Detectors inthe field.

These materials are available to down-load for free on the TreeCareTips.org Web

site, and are helpful education tools to usewith consumers. Printed in both Englishand Spanish, the education materialsenable the most people possible to keep avigilant eye open for these pests. The“Trainer’s Manual” was avail-able to workshop attendeesonly.

Four invasive insects of theNortheastern area of the UnitedStates that are causing the mostconcern to officials werereviewed. They were the sirexwoodwasp (Sirex noctilio),Asian longhorned beetle(Anoplophora glabripennis),hemlock woolly adelgid(Adelges tsugae), and emeraldash borer (Agrilus planipen-nis). Methods of detection and controlwere discussed at length.

Raupp’s presentation was thorough,instructive, and included a close-up exam

of each insect from under microscopes.The workshop attendees were given the

history of how invasive insects wereassumed to enter the United States. Mostparticipants were surprised to learn that

changes in free trade laws inthe earlier part of the 20th cen-tury were what providedopportunity for invasive insectspecies to enter our country.

Raupp was excellent at rais-ing everyone’s awareness,regardless of their currentexperience with these inva-sives, and questions andanswers were a dominant partof the entire session.

TCIA would like to thankthe USDA Forest Service,

Northeastern region, for making this work-shop and the accompanying materialsavailable to concerned arborists and home-owners.


First Detector Training on Invasive TreeInsect Pests

Asian long-horned beetle is one of four invasive insects of particular concern in the Northeastern area of the UnitedStates. Photo courtesy of Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

This flyer gives detailed infor-mation about the insects andhow to spot them.

Reporter is the monthly newsletter of the Tree Care Industry Association. TCIA members can access the complete publication at www.treecareindustry.org.


Have you registered yourself and your topstaff for Winter Management Conference

2008 yet?The 2008 conference takes place February

11-14 at the oceanfront Westin Aruba Resort. The annual WMC is the tree care business

leadership event of the year, combining edu-cation, networking and planned recreationalactivities in a relaxed resort atmosphere.Attend WMC once and see why, for manyindustry leaders, it’s the only annual confer-ence to attend.

The 2008 conference will feature four daysof morning education sessions, providingguests with the remainder of the day as freetime or to participate in planned recreationalactivities. Here are two of the speakers, eachof whom will present attendees with insightson meeting customer needs effectively onWMC Day 2:

CCuussttoommeerr RReetteennttiioonn RReeqquuiirreess LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp &&EExxeeccuuttiioonnBy Clifford Robbins, Ph.D.

The customer relationship management(CRM) industry spends a lot of time and

money figuring outhow businesses canprovide a superiorexperience for cus-tomers. However,most CRM pro-grams lack two keyingredients: leader-ship and execution.

Dr. Robbins willexplain how keep-ing more customersis a direct outcome

of your organization’s ability to build andmaintain quality relationships with them –and how it starts at the top. Leadership mustbe committed to, and possess, a strong beliefin superior customer satisfaction – and this isthe ingredient most lacking where customerloyalty is eroding.

PPrrooAAccttiivvee CCuussttoommeerr--FFooccuusseedd SSaalleessBy Dirk Beveridge

Top producing businesses are always look-ing for ways to improve and differentiatethemselves in today’s continually changingmarkets. If you are selling the same way youdid 12 months ago, you’re already losing busi-ness.

Dirk Beveridge will help us discover newand better strategies for competing success-fully in today’s market. He’ll share howchanging your sales approach, from reactiveand product-oriented to proactive and cus-tomer-focused, will improve salesperformance, pro-ductivity and resultsand drive salesbeyond what themarket is preparedto give.

For more infor-mation on theforemost business/social conferencefor tree care indus-try leaders, visitwww.tcia.org andclick the Meetingstab to download the full conference brochure,or call 1-800-733-2622 to request a mailedcopy. Hotel accommodations can also bebooked online.

Don’t forget, the WMC registration EarlyBird deadline is January 11, 2008. Registeronline or call soon to save!

Customer relationship management, proactivesales approach topics of discussion in Aruba

Register for WMC 2008 in Aruba

Online. Visit www.tcia.org and click:

Meetingsto Register Online

Clifford Robbins

Dirk Beveridge




Bayer Environmental Science is the newestTCIA PACT partner. Bayer signed on as a

supporter of Partners Advancing CommercialTreecare for 2007 and 2008

The Bayer Environmental Science greenbusiness group was founded in 2002as a division of Bayer CropScience LP,a member of the worldwide BayerGroup, a $27 billion internationalhealth care and chemicals groupbased in Leverkusen,Germany.

The tree care industryis an important market for BayerEnvironmental Science green business prod-ucts, according to company sources. Othermarkets include lawn care, golf, nursery andgreenhouse production, sod production,sports fields, institutional sites and industrialvegetation management. The company manu-factures a full line of tree, turf and ornamentalproducts, including insecticides, herbicides,fungicides and plant growth regulators. Some

major products manufactured by Bayerinclude: Merit insecticide, Allectus insecti-cide, Foliar-applied Forbid miticide, and MeritTree Injection, a new, injectable formulation of

Merit insecticide. In addition, the companyrecently introduced CoreTect tablets, acombination of Merit and fertilizer in atablet.

To develop and support its products,Bayer Environmental Science maintains

one of the premier turfand ornamental researchfacilities in the country.

The Clayton, N.C., facility allows for year-roundtesting of pesticides, utilizing greenhouses andfield locations. Formulations, spray techniquesand the influence of rainfall/irrigation on prod-uct performance are just some of the issuesevaluated there. Numerous pest problems canbe tested under a variety of conditions.

The Backed by Bayer initiative is a primaryfocus of the organization and a way to ensuresuccess for its customers.

“Basically, Backed By Bayer means you pur-chase more than products when you dobusiness with Bayer – you get the confidencethat you’ll succeed,” says Bryan Gooch, Meritbusiness manager for Bayer. “Our customersget the assurance that comes from value-added programs, services and an ongoingcommitment to the industry.”

In addition, Bayer offers many value-addedprograms to help the tree care professional,including its Accolades Rewards program –members earn points toward rewards witheach purchase of a Bayer product.

“As a company, Bayer is fortunate – we havethe portfolio to specialize within the industry,”says Gooch. “In other words, we have theproducts and programs that can make a differ-ence to tree care professionals.”

For more information on the marketingopportunities available though the PartnersAdvancing Commercial Treecare program,contact Deborah Johnson, director of develop-ment, at 1-800-733-2622.

Bayer Enviro Science is new PACT partner


JANUARY 2007Trees, and the Quest for Perfection

By Rod Whitlow

Chipper Winches vs. Grapples: Both

Save Time & Labor

By Rick Howland

Erosion Regulation Erodes Nerves in

Georgia

By David Rattigan

Motivate Your Workforce Like the NFL

By Bill Butterworth

Basic Tools for Simplifying Your

Business

By Michael McKinley

From the Field: Tree Theme Bikes!

By Chuck Collins

FEBRUARY 2007Down, But Not Out – Marketing Waste

Wood

By Janet Aird

Big Toys: What’s Hot in ROW Clearing

Equipment?

By Rick Howland

Using Structural Soil in the Urban

Environment

By Nina Bassuk

The Soil Food Web: Common

Denominator in the Landscape

By Dr. Elaine Ingham

Accreditation Profile: Hamm’s

ArborCare

Managing Your Cash Flow

By Mary McVicker

Proper Leadership Can Create a

“Culture of Safety”

By Joe Engberg

If You are Addicted to Certain

Behaviors, Make Them Work for You

By Tony Smith

Cry for the Music Tree – Saving the

African Ebony

By Denis Gathanju

TREE Fund: Picnicking on a

Trampoline at 60 Feet

From the Field: True Stories from the

School of Hard Knocks!

By Doc Ricketts

MARCH 2007The Latest in Oak Wilt Management

By David N. Appel

Maryland OSHA Initiative Pushes

Training Over Punishment

By David Rattigan

Compact and Mini Loaders Pack a Lot

of Muscle

By Rick Howland

Crane Best Practices in Tree Removal:

Hoisting a Qualified Arborist

By Mark Adams

Higher Education Can Help Us All

Climb Higher

By Guy Meilleur

Arboriculture, Urban Forestry and

Forestry Degree Programs in U.S.

Colleges & Universities

Draft of the Revised ANSI A300

Pruning Standard

From the Field: If You Are Injured,

Could Your Business Survive?

By Charles Pfingsten

APRIL 2007Taking Your Safety Program from

Good to Great

By Joe Engberg

How to Pick a High-Quality Climbing

Rope

By David Rattigan

Going UP! Next Stop – Aerial Lift

Efficiency and Profitability

By Rick Howland

Beware the Hidden Dangers of Palms

By Rich Magargal

Invasive Insects & the Tree Care

Industry

By Anand B. Persad, Ph.D.

Accreditation Profile: Arborguard’s

Eco-Cars

Advice for Young Arborists Choosing a

Direction or Focus

By Howard Eckel

Battle of the Beech: Defending Your

Decisions and Your Reputation

By David Schwartz

From the Field: Observations from a

Woman in the Field

By Lynn Dawn Wiseman

Spring TCI Equipment Locator (Supplement)

What Creditors Want to See When

Buying Equipment

By Janet Aird

Using Your Bank More Effectively:

Beyond the Checking Account

By Mary McVicker

MAY 2007How Green Is Tree Waste Recycling?

By David Rattigan

Controlling Workers’ Comp Costs

By Dane Buell, CTSP

Lack of Resources Slows APHIS

Programs on Invasive Insects

By Sarah Magee

The Significance of Conks on Urban

Trees

By Dr. Christopher J. Luley

Brewing Up Compost Tea Party?

Include the Sprayer in Your Recipe

By Rick Howland

TCI Published Articles Listing for 2007Complete articles, and a listing of all articles published since 1998, are viewable online at www.TCIA.org


When Tree Care and Common Sense

Collide

By David Schwartz

Palm Safety Part 2: Accessing Tops of

Palms from Outside the Fronds

By Rich Magargal

Premises Liability: Trees Can Become a

Legal Liability

By Peter S. Beering and Judson R. Scott

Accreditation Profile: The Care of

Trees

From the Field: Urban Sprawl –

Encroachment Is in Eye of the Beholder

By Joel Issert

JUNE 2007Battling Bolts from the Blue

By Guy Meilleur

Redefining the Chipper’s Role in Tree

Care

By Rick Howland

Ergonomic Injuries – Is There a Trend

Here?

By Joshua T. McClenahan

Good Roots, Healthy Tree – Bartlett

Celebrates 100 Years

By Janet Aird

Safety is About Changing Behavior, Not

Just Tools and Techniques

By John Ball

Relieve the Pressure – Don’t Let

Business Stress Ruin Your Life

By William J. Lynott

From the Field: Ignorance Is Not Bliss –

Challenge Courses and Hazardous Trees

By Vic Foerster

JULY 2007Root Pruning: Severing Subterranean

Stranglers

By Guy Meilleur

Are Natural Gas Leaks Killing

Municipal Trees?

By David Rattigan

To Cable or Not to Cable – That Is the

Question

By H. Dennis P. Ryan

Building a Safety Culture: A Proactive

Approach

By Vic Bernardini and Alice Carter

The “Cutting Edge” of Stump Grinder

Technology

By Rick Howland

Make Mother Nature’s Hit Squad Part

of Your Team

By Michael Raupp

Happy Anniversary! Accreditation Is

Three Years Old and Growing Strong

Climbing Competitions Can Be Fun

and Benefit Employers

By Keith Pancake

Arbor Talk Radio Is On the Air

By Janet Aird

From the Field: Life of a Tree Provides

Perspective

By Rod Whitlow

AUGUST 2007 Cleaning Up After Powerful Storm

Starts Long Before First Forecast

By Rick Howland

Team Approach to Avoiding, Mitigating

Construction Damage to Trees

By Nelda Matheny

Taming the Tiger – Wildfire Prevention

and Mitigation

By Tracy Powell

Boarding the Biodiesel Boom Band

Wagon

By Tracy Powell

Defeating the Scourge of Hemlock –

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

By Michael Raupp

Wear Chain Saw Chaps and Other

PPE in Hot Weather

By Tchukki Andersen

A Good Hedge Should Be a Foil for the

Plants It Surrounds

By John O’Shea

Any Business Can Be Vulnerable to

Employee Fraud

By Mary McVicker

From the Field: Arborist Helps VFW,

American Legion Realize Mutual Dream

By Barry Drazkowski

SEPTEMBER 2007 Preventing Spread of EAB and Other

Invasives

By Rick Howland

Native Forests & the Urban Landscape:

Don’t Treat Your Soil Like Dirt

By Mike Amaranthus, Ph.D.

A New German Benchmark for Tree

Crown Support

By Andreas Detter

Tree Planting: Plant an Oak, the U.S.

National Tree

By Lakshmi Sridharan, Ph.D.

National Response Action Team:

Climbing to the Top of His Field

By Janet Aird

The Consultation: When Is a Free

Estimate Just Free Advice?

By Craig Smith

Excerpts from Revised Tree Law Casesin the USA By Lew Bloch

Pay-Per-Click Advertising Can

Increase Your Business from the Web

By Brian Kraff and Griffin Davis

At 50, Morbark Celebrates the Past

While Looking to the Future

By Janet Aird

Immigration Pressures Are

Rearranging State Politics

By Josh Goodman

From the Field: Day of Service in

Washington, D.C.

Fall TCI Equipment Locator (Supplement)

Logs to Lumber Pays

By Andy Trotter

The ABCs of a DOT Audit

By Clay Eppard


TCIA’s Affinity Partner Program – A

Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers, Industry

The Business of Safety

By Tony Gann

The Professional Sales Process

By Paul Elcoat

An Accountant Can Be a Valuable

Resource for Your Business

By Mary McVicker

OCTOBER 2007What’s New in Arboriculture?

By E. Thomas Smiley, Ph.D.

Vehicle Safety and Your Bottom Line

By Paul Farrell

Selecting a Throw Line

By David Rattigan

Ready ... Aim ... FIREWOOD!

By Rick Howland

Old Arboriculture Book Proves Some

Things Never Change

By Robert Wallace

The Many Benefits of Complaining

Online

By Reid Goldsborough

Cell Phones and 911 – Does Your Phone

Lock in Emergency Mode?

By Tim Walsh, CTSP

Negligent Hiring: Avoid Pitfalls that Could

Get Someone Hurt or Land You In Court

By Gary Lieber

Effective Safety Programs Justify Their

Cost In a Number of Ways

By Tony Tresselt, CTSP

Botany Everywhere is Valuable Resource

for Tree, Shrub, Plant ID in Northeast

By Tchukki Andersen

From the Field: The Difference Between

a “Tree Guy” and an Arborist?

By Aubrey Ionashku

NOVEMBER 2007The Argument Over One-Handed

Chain Saw Use

By Paul Elcoat

Making the Cut at Tree Care Training

School

By David Rattigan

Mini Lifts May Put More Profits

Within Easier Reach

By Rick Howland

Creating a Culture of Safety

By Sam Steel

Diagnosing Herbicide Injury

By David L. Roberts

Dead Trees Standing – Drought, Stress

and Borers

By Michael Raupp

Hybrids May Be Ending the Pain of

White Pine Blister Rust

By Pat Kerr

Cell Phone Use On the Job – Who Is

Liable?

By Paul Farrell

Will Your Company Weather the

Impending Workforce Crisis?

By Gregory P. Smith

Going Green: Boston Tree Preservation

Becomes Even More Green

Giving Back: Massachusetts Arborist

Association Day of Service

Tree Law: Virginia Ruling Provides

Protection from Neighbor’s Trees

By Lew Bloch

Snow Business: Soliciting New Snow

Plow Customers

By John Allin

“S” Corps Offer Limited Liability

But Allow Owners Income and

Deductions

By Mark E. Battersby

Member Forum: Lessons Learned from

Emerald Ash Borer Treatments

By Kirk Gruenwald

Developing Their Own GPS Boosts a

Company to the Max

By Don Dale

When Is a Sale a Sale? When You Get

Paid

By Mary McVicker

Accreditation Profile: Poteet Tree

Service

A Fall from Safety Results in Severe

Injury

By Steve Sylvester

Consulting: There’s Income to be Made

from Tree Appraisal and Valuation

By Tchukki Andersen

West Coast Shoe Protects Feet of

Arborists, Motorcyclists, Movie Stars

From the Field: A Tree Is a Terrible

Thing to Waste

By Celeste White

DECEMBER 2007Tweaking the Benefits of Organic

Mulch

By Dr. Glynn Percival and EvangelosGklavakis

Professional Duties in Tree Risk

Assessment

By J. David Hucker

Clearing the Way for Energy – Cutting

vs Triming ROWs

By David Rattigan

Fine Tuning Grinder Output for New

Markets

By Rick Howland

On the Trail of the Light Brown Apple

Moth

By Sarah Magee

Building a Climbing System

By Keith Pancake

Branching Out: “One Day, One School”

Program Coming To a Town Near You

By Rebecca Fater

Accreditation Profile: Kerns Brothers

TCI 2007 Article Listing

From the Field: Should Nose Plugs Be

Standard PPE? Maybe...

By Marie Hawkins

Have a story idea or a photo to share?Send it to Don Staruk at [email protected]

The Tree Care Industry Association hasbeen awarded a federal grant throughOSHA’s Susan Harwood Training GrantProgram to provide up to 12 free ElectricalHazards Awareness Program (EHAP) “openenrollment” workshops in 2008.

During the grant period, TCIA anticipatestraining 2000 or more individuals in safe,accident-free electrical hazard work prac-tices. The cost of the workshop and allenrollment materials will be free to all partic-ipants, with the exception of a small fee tocover the cost of food and beverage.

EHAP is one step toward helping tree careprofessionals become qualified as line clear-ance arborists and provides a means ofverifying that they have been trained accord-ing to OSHA and ANSI safety requirements.It is also an invaluable hazard awareness pro-gram for non-line clearance arborists. If youwould like to host a free EHAP workshop,the Susan Harwood Training Grant providesan opportunity to get yourself and your group

trained cost-effectively in electrical hazardsawareness.

TCIA hopes to finalize the EHAP work-shop locations by mid-December. Groupsinterested in potentially hosting a workshopshould immediately request an EHAPWorkshop Hosting Request Form by e-mail-ing [email protected], after reviewing thefollowing requirements for hosting.

The facility must be FREE OF CHARGEor low cost to TCIA. Strong preference willbe given to free/donated facilities.

Proposed location must accommodate aminimum of 100 students with classroom-style seating (rows of long tables with chairsall facing in the same direction).

Workshops are 8 hours long and includetwo 15-minute breaks and 1 hour for lunch. Itis suggested they be scheduled Mondaythrough Friday. All workshops must be heldbetween January 1 and August 31, 2008.

Ample parking must be available.A/V must be available, either provided by

the location or rented. A/V to include a laptop(only if the instructor will not be bringingone), a DVD player and VCR, with a largescreen monitor (TV) or a projector and screen.

The host partner must provide the nameand contact information for a local caterer.

The host partner must be willing to provideon-site personnel (one individual per every 50students) to check people in, distribute badgesand materials, confirm food delivery and makesure the workshop runs on time. The on-sitepersonnel will also be responsible for return-ing all workshop related materials (unusedEHAP kits, training rosters, etc.) to TCIAwithin 48 hours of workshop’s conclusion.

The host partner should provide TCIA withmarketing assistance – preferably e-mail lists –10 to 12 weeks prior to the scheduled work-shop. TCIA will finalize workshop locationsby December 31.

Once finalized, workshops will be promotedand registration will be available exclusivelythrough the TCIA Web site, www.tcia.org.


1. Almstead Tree & Shrub Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Altec Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3. Arbor Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734. Bandit Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company . . . . . . . . 605. Beaver Squeezer Grapple, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636. Becker Underwood/Colorbiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477. Bishop Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128. Border City Tool & Manufacturing Co. . . . . . . . 609. Branch Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6610. Central Boiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6211. DICA Marketing Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5412. Eagle Claw Tooth, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6213. Easy Tree Removal, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3114. FAE USA, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115. FAE USA, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4916. Fanno Saw Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2217. Fecon, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318. Giuffre Brothers Cranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5920. IML-Instrument Mechanic Labor, Inc. . . . . . . . . 2621. Italmec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2722. J.P. Carlton, Div. DAF Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5523. LAMTRAC International . . . . . . Inside Back Cover24. Loftness/US Attachments . . . . . . Inside Front Cover25. Mainka Enterprises, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1926. Mid Am Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2327. Morbark, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-4128. New England Grows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

29. Opdyke, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2154 Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancement. . . . . . 5830. Rapco Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3031. Rayco Manufacturing, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555. Rotochopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4532. Samson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7133. SavATree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6134. Shawmut Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2635. SherrillTree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736. Southco Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4637. Swinger Compact Loaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4438 TCIA Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3739. TCIA Basic Training DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7440. TCIA Certified Treecare Safety Professional-CTSP . 3941. TCIA Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-57

TCIA PACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7542. TCIA Tailgate Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6443 TCIA Tree Care Apprentice Program . . . . . . . . . .3644. TCIA Winter Management Conference . . . . . . . . 6745. T.H. Glennon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4846. Terex Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1747. Teupen America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1548. Timberwolf Mfg. Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649. Vermeer Manufacturing Co. . . . . . . . . . Back Cover50. Vitamin Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5351. West Coast Shoe Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6552. Western Tree Equipment & Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . 6153. Zenith Cutter Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Please tell these advertisers where you saw their ad.They appreciate your patronage.

Reader Service No. * Page No. Reader Service No. * Page No.

* Please circle this number on the Reader’s Service Card for more information.

TCIA Receives Grant to Run EHAP Workshops


By Marie B. Hawkins

We had a contract to do work forseveral years at the NavalWeapons Support Center at

Crane, Indiana. It’s a large ammunitiondepot with lots of government projects forthe military.

We worked all over the 100-square-milebase and knew every nook and cranny,which made it great to see deer, coyote,turkey, copperheads and rattlesnakes. Itwas an awesome place to work.

In our contract, we would take downdead, dangerous trees from the residual area,industrial area, high walls, bunkers, traintracks, power lines, roadways and more.

This particular day we were out on Road8, which was near where blasting wouldtake place for testing bombs and such. Wewere allowed in to do a tree between blast-ings. This day’s job involved a deadstanding elm. We put a rope in it and felledit exactly where we wanted it.

When we did these jobs, we were sup-posed to drag the brush 15 feet behind thetree line and stack it no taller than 3 feethigh.

I started cutting the brush out of the topof the tree and was coming along prettywell when all of a sudden it felt like some-one hit me between the eyes with a fist orsomething. I put the brake on the saw andsat it down not knowing really what I wasdoing because I had this weird feeling inmy head. I started feeling around my headwith my hands to see what happened. Mynose felt really funny! I rubbed it andthought, “What’s in my nose?” I feltsomething short sticking out from theinside of one nostril and it felt like a stick.I pulled it out and it was about 4 incheslong and a little bigger than the diameterof pencil lead.

The minute I pulled it out blood flowedlike a river. My husband and the guys were

in the woods placing the brush and whenhe came out he saw me bleeding. He said,“Another nose bleed?” (I have lots of aller-gies and always have nose bleeds.)

I said, “No, I just pulled a stick out of mynose.”

He said, “How…?”“I don’t know,” I said. He then said, “Did the saw throw it up in

your nose?”“No! I think I turned around and a twig

was there and it ran up my nose when Iturned around.”

Every time I opened my mouth bloodpoured out like a faucet had been turned onin the back of my throat. I was really losinga lot of blood and he basically threw me inthe truck and headed for the dispensary onthe base. It was a good 12 minutes out fromwhere we needed to go and I had my headbent over my feet because I had just put mynew sweatshirt on and didn’t want bloodall over it, so the floor of the truck had a bigblood puddle and my boots were covered.

We pulled up to the dispensary and I toldhim we weren’t allowed to park there. I’llget out and go in and you park, I said. As Imoved up the walk, there was a lady stand-ing there. The look on her face scared me,and I thought to myself, “I must be dying!”I was covered in blood!

I got into the waiting area – so manypeople! I knew this was not going to be aquick in and out. I walked up to the count-er and the nurse said, “Oh a little nosebleed?”

As I opened my mouth blood poured out

over the counter and I couldn’t get thewords out. Finally, I told her I was gettingready to faint and that I had taken out astick that was up my nose.

She grabbed me to keep me from falling,placed me in a wheelchair and ran me tothe ER part of the dispensary. They came inwith scissors to cut off my new sweatshirtand I told them over my dead body. Wewill get it off one way or another, but cut-ting is no option!

The doctor wanted the stick to see if any-thing broke off in the cavity of my sinus.Well, I didn’t think I needed a twig and I hadthrown it on the ground. They decided theycouldn’t do much for me and were sendingme to the hospital.

An eye, ear and nose specialist foundwhere the stick entered with force andstopped just a half inch from my brain.They cleaned it out, packed it and gave meshots and medicine and I was informed tostay home for a least one week and rest.They didn’t want me to get meningitis,which could get into my spine.

My husband said, “You need to watchwhere you put your nose.” He always madecomments about my nose being longbefore this happened and now, after this, itmust be true.

When I arrived back to work the nextweek, our inspectors had named the roadafter my accident – Nose Job Road! Whata tribute!

For several years after that, when thecontract had trees on Road 8, they wouldrefer to it as “Nose Job Road,” not Road 8.

Marie B. Hawkins and her husband,Rodney K. Wright, own and operateAmerican Tree Experts, Inc. in Loogootee,Indiana, which has been in business since1985. Their business is now for sale, soMarie can spend more time breaking hors-es, parachuting and partaking in some ofher other hobbies.

From the Field

What’s wrong? Got a stick up your nose!

TCI will pay $100 for published “From the Field” articles. Submissions become the property of TCI and are subject to editingfor grammar, style and length. Entries must include the name of a company and a contact person. Send to: Tree Care Industry, 3Perimeter Road, Unit 1, Manchester, NH 03101, or [email protected].

“Another nose bleed?”he asked. I said, “No, Ijust pulled a stick out ofmy nose.”



Documents

TCI Mag 12.07-back.qxp