I am an independent, private consulting arborist offering objective consulting services. I believe that my role is to speak for the trees, and I aim to strike a balance between the best interests of trees and the needs of my clients. I pride myself on honesty, integrity and timely completion of work.
My office is located in Ojai, but I provide consulting services across Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and areas north of there. If you are located in Los Angeles County, Orange County, or south of there, please visit my colleague’s website.
Click on a link below to learn more about some of the services that I offer:
Expert witness
Home sales (escrow)
Virtual site visits
Oak and protected tree preservation
Tree risk assessment (hazard evaluation)
Disease and pest diagnosis
Why don’t we provide treatment services?
Restorative pruning recommendations
Tree preservation during construction
Oak compatible landscaping
Tree value assessment
Some of my projects involve only one tree, while others involve thousands. My clients include:
- individual private homeowners
- homeowner associations
- non-profit organizations
- cities and counties throughout Southern California
- public and private schools and universities
- builders, developers and architects.
I do not offer the following services:
- Pruning
- Cabling or bracing
- Injections or fertilizer treatments
- Landscape installation
Expert Witness
I perform selected court work as a “consulting forensic expert” or as a “testifying forensic expert”.
Home sales (escrow)
It is often beneficial for potential buyers of real estate to consult with an arborist regarding the health and safety of trees prior to closing escrow. I offer this service and am able to make such services available in a timely manner.
Virtual site visits
I am constantly looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact caused by the way I work and live. One issue that has always troubled me is driving my work vehicle all over the southland to examine people’s trees. It occurred to me that in a few cases, I might be able to do a reasonable job without actually seeing the trees in person. The idea of a “virtual site visit” was born.
If you have limited needs, and can send good quality digital photos via email, I may be able to help you without driving to your location. Click here for details.
Oak and protected tree preservation
When people decide to build near oaks or other protected trees, many local governments require that an arborist be hired to consult on the project and generate a report. In some areas, an arborist must be hired to monitor the condition of oaks and protected trees during and after construction. I have extensive experience with various municipalities throughout Southern California, and a very good understanding of the process.
Tree risk assessment (hazard evaluation)
I use my experience and knowledge of tree biology and structure, combined with observations about the tree’s environment and the history of the site, to evaluate whether a tree presents an unacceptable risk of failure. Although no tree can be made absolutely “safe,” I may be able to recommend ways to reduce the risk of failure. In some cases, I may suggest testing a tree for decay by using a Resi® (another service I provide).
Disease and pest diagnosis
Using non-invasive methods, I inspect trees for signs and symptoms of pests and disease. Once I determine what is afflicting the tree, I recommend what can be done to improve the situation.
Why don’t I provide treatment services?
I do not provide treatment services. I understand there is extra time and cost involved for clients to 1) hire me to tell them what is wrong with their tree and what (if anything) they should do about it and then 2) hire someone else to carry out our recommendations.
However, there is a very good reason for this. If you hire somebody who “does treatments” to evaluate the health of your tree, they are selling you a product (their treatment) and may have motivation to encourage you to do something that is costly and possibly unnecessary. It is clear that this could be a conflict of interest for them.
Over the years I have seen many cases where a company that does treatments has recommended expensive work that was unnecessary, incorrect, and/or harmful to either the tree or the environment. In most of these cases, my recommendations for what needed to be done for a tree would NOT have included treatments, but rather steps that the client themselves could have taken to help the tree, such as changing watering practices, mulching the tree, simply rinsing off the foliage with water, etc. My recommendations are often simple, practical, and more friendly to clients’ trees and the environment.
Of course, there are situations where I do recommend a treatment for a tree. In those cases, I would provide you with a list of qualified, competent, reliable, ethical contractors, AND a diagnosis of the issue needing treatment so that the contractor you hire will not do unnecessary and/or harmful work at your expense.
Restorative pruning recommendations
Whether a tree has broken or been improperly pruned in the past, I can work with you to improve the branch structure of the tree. Although I do not prune large trees myself, I advocate, as a minimum, following the industry standard practices for pruning set out by the American National Standards Institute [ANSI A300 (Part 1)].
Tree preservation during construction
With careful foresight and consideration, I can help you preserve the health of your trees throughout the construction process by providing design input in the planning stages and/or monitoring tree condition during construction. I can recommend where to place protective fencing, how to prevent soil compaction, how and whether to cut roots, how to prune for clearance, balancing, weight reduction, etc., how best to route utilities and retaining walls, and much more.
Oak compatible landscaping
Oak trees generally require site conditions that may not be compatible with common landscaping practices in Southern California. I can guide you through the process of maintaining a pleasing landscape in the vicinity of oak trees through proper selection of drought-tolerant plants and appropriate irrigation practices.
Tree value assessment
Using the Council of Tree & Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) Guide for Plant Appraisal 9th edition*, I determine the monetary value of a tree. Tree appraisals can be a useful tool in legal affairs, personal disputes, and insurance claims.