Here’s the 20/20 from a Board Certified Master Arborist. I’ve been in business more than 10 years.  I’ve seen ‘competitors’ come and go. I lose bids to other companies based on price, the easiest part of tree work for clients to understand. Momma always said “Life’s like a box of chocolates.” Do you want Moonstruck truffles or Tootsie rolls? You get what you pay for. I’ll talk with a client for 30 minutes explaining how and why we prune the tree, percentage of live wood to remove, branch diameter of the dead wood to remove, and how much clearance from the house and traffic areas we will provide. It’s all in writing, including any regulations they need to know.I’ve looked at ‘competitors bids that say ‘Prune the tree in front’ with a price. What does that mean?

I talk with people who are surprised that they were shafted by someone they found on Craig’s List with no Business license number, no written contract, and cash-only payments. Or a friend who works for a tree company will prune their trees on a weekend, without proper equipment or any insurance. You must know that these hacks are able to work for less because they are cutting corners, either with service, quality, or flat out illegal activity. Do you think they are paying taxes to support our flailing economy?

Playing by the rules is part of the game. Yes it’s a pain  in the ash, but the time Emerald Tree has invested in dialog with the cities of Portland, Lake O, Tigard, Beaverton, Vancouver, Fairview, and Gresham ensures a smooth operation. The money we spend in training, safety equipment, and quality personnel means less aggravation and property damage for the client.

You get what you pay for. Do it right the first time.

Jim

Check out this online book! It’s called The Forest Where Ashley Lives and it’s about urban forests.

We volunteered with lots of neighbors last Saturdayto help Friends of Trees get more than 300 trees in the ground and mulched.  Friends of Trees is a great way to involve yourself in the community with a little exercise, some good food, and a lasting gift to livability in our neighborhoods. See some video here.

3.24.10 I spoke at the Planning and Urban Forestry joint commission meeting last night in support of  The Citywide Tree Policy Review and Regulatory Improvement Project. The full monologue is as follows:

I’m Jim Wentworth-Plato. I participated as an arborist on the SDG. I’ve been working with trees in the Portland and surrounding areas since the mid 90’s and have achieved the Board Certified Master Arborist accreditation from the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and I’m a Certified Tree Risk Assessor. I operate a small business caring for our urban forest through planting, pruning for health and longevity, and removing trees when the need arises. I talk with homeowners on a daily basis about their tree concerns and needs.

The proposals in the Review and draft amendments are not focused only on increasing canopy cover in our city, but increasing clarity and communication of regulations concerning trees. I strongly support the creation of a tree manual as a resource for home and business owners, developers, and arborists. There are many resources for identification, choosing, planting, and pruning trees on the web, but it’s currently difficult for the average Portlander to find rules regarding what they can and can’t do to trees. It’s unfair to hold people accountable for what they don’t know. A contact person at the city to answer questions, handle complaints, and document violations will create goodwill and allow the city to respond to problems in a timely fashion.

The stated goals of the city are to increase canopy cover from 26 to 33 percent. Another goal of the city is infill instead of sprawl. There is a lot of friction in this debate. I support both goals, but I’m witnessing a shrinking and decline of our urban forest and livability. Smaller lot sizes don’t leave room for a large canopy tree and a building. In these areas, the city may want to consider additional mini-parks or groves of trees on a single sacrificial property, so the building density can be higher on surrounding properties and still allow enough space for mature trees.

As an arborist in Portland, I’ve seen many violations by home owners, developers, landscapers, and people calling themselves arborists. I’ve forwarded phone calls from clients concerned about what their neighbors are doing or a construction project that they just don’t think is right and I appreciate the assistance of Urban Forestry. There are two types of violators, the ignorant, and the ones taking a calculated risk. We can educate and provide resources for the uninformed to do things properly, but the people betting they won’t get caught won’t follow improved codes either. The biggest problem with poor tree care is that one bad pruning can destroy 100 years of good pruning and the tree. Another problem is that root damage from construction, grade changes, and compaction, rarely manifest for 3-5 years from the time of injury. It behooves us to enforce preservation now to avoid larger problems later. How? There should be a posted sign for concerned citizens to report illegal behavior near the perimeter of construction sites. That number would get you to a person at the city with the ability to address violations in a timely manner and will reduce repeat offenses.

While I applaud the work done to refine, clarify, and consolidate the tree codes, I have a few specific concerns.

• Removal permits for trees over 12” is too large. I understand the problem of staffing site visits, but many trees, particularly the trees that mature to a smaller height, may take 10 years to get to that size. I recommend 8-10” because many seeded trees grow quickly to 4” and many ornamental trees take quite a while to get to large diameters. Nuisance trees should be exempt.
• Removal should have an emergency permit allowed with photos.
• Replanting should be allowed any time, but encouraged to be done in the wet months, instead of the 30 day time frame.
• I encourage you to consider requiring businesses that get licensed for tree work in the city to have certified arborists on every job site. The ISA has a widely accepted program for certification.
• There are many trees in the city that are under protection of tree preservation but few arborists or homeowners know if the tree they are working on is on a plan. There needs to be an easy way to access this database if you want compliance. Perhaps putting it on Portlandmaps.com?

Thank you for taking the time to review my concerns.

Developing a website takes longer than you’d think. Particularly when you’re trying to give feedback to the city of Portland on proposed code changes regarding trees and you only have a short time to read 700+ pages of text. Sweeping reform folks. In a good way, mostly. Instead of multiple, conflicting codes, they are thinking of putting trees under a new chapter all by themselves, creating a tree manual to help you all get through a bit easier, and getting a central person to answer questions. Here’s the link if you’d like to learn more about the Citywide Tree Policy Review and Regulatory Improvement Project. The text is about as dry as the title, unless you’re a tree geek, but it’s important.