Arborists are frequently called upon to place a monetary value on plant material lost for reasons as divergent as vandalism, accidental damage, pesticide drift, insurance/tax claims, and eminent domain.  Assessing a value for an identical reproduction of nursery-size plant material is relatively easy and straight forward.  Appraisal becomes more challenging in situations where the tree is too large for reproduction or functional replacement (same environmental and aesthetic benefits).  The challenge for the appraiser is to arrive at values that are fair to all parties while being defendable in court.

The Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers released the 10^th edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal in August 2018.  This replaced the previous edition published 19 years earlier.  Previous editions have been revised on average every five years.  As a result, there was resistance to changing a process that some individuals had used for most of their professional career.

Changes to the 10^th updated the appraisal process bringing it into line with other segments of the appraisal profession (e.g. real estate, personal property).  The American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) has developed a Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification (TPAQ) that instructs green industry professionals in these new appraisal practices and terminology and awards a credential (qualification) to individuals successfully completing the course and exam.  I successfully completed this credential and am one of 10 international individuals certified to teach the course.  Two of the initial four classes piloting this credential to practicing arborists were taught by me in Kentucky.

As a result of my involvement in piloting the TPAQ program, the Kentucky arboricultural Extension program has been instrumental in fine-tuning the training materials.  Kentucky arborists are now recognized as leaders in this segment of the profession.  Two half-day agent training programs have been provided to Extension professionals to make them aware of the methodology. Other training sessions are planned.  The TPAQ courses and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) programs have resulted in Kentucky’s arborists being some of the most experienced and qualified green industry professionals in the US and Canada.