Arboricultural Assessment and Report Writing

In January 2018 I received a request for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KTC) resulting from a 1-day training program I did at Quicksand for KTC employees. A sub-contractor, hired by KTC had pruned a large, mature bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) to remove branches overhanging KY Hwy 17 in Pendleton Co. The owner of the property claimed that the tree had been needlessly disfigured, was unstable, and threatened to sue the Commonwealth for the cost of removal of the tree. Because of the massive size of this tree, the cost of the takedown would have been in the $5,000 to $7,000 range on top of the appraised value of the tree.

I visited the site and determined from archival photographs and the current (post-pruning) condition of the tree that the branches that had been removed by the sub-contractor were over-extended and potentially unstable. If these branches had failed, they would have landed in a curve across both lanes of KY Hwy 17. It would have been impossible for vehicles traveling at the posted speed limit (55 mph) to have stopped before striking the failed limb(s). Removal of these limbs did not significantly change the tree’s stability or negatively impact the vigor or vitality of the tree. This tree can be expected to outlive anyone alive today. As a part of the landscape, it has the potential to provide environmental benefits in the thousands of dollars over the coming decades.  Furthermore, the buttress roots of the tree had previously caused extensive damage to the front walk to the house. This is a likely reason that the owner of the tree wanted the state to pay for removal of the tree.

I provided legal counsel for KTC with a report following the ASCA (American Society of Consulting Arborists) format for arboricultural reports and included documentation of my findings. The suit has been withdrawn and has saved the Commonwealth approximately $20,000 plus the cost of litigation. 

This program made use of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) and The American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification (TPAQ) that I hold and use to provide training to Kentucky Arborists.