"gribbee" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Babberney" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 19:36:48 GMT, Victor Martinez
wrote:

gribbee wrote:
Any good native tree folks out there that do this kind of consulting
work?

IME, the best arborist in town is Pat Wentworth (Austin Tree
Specialists, 474-6614).
He's not cheap, but he's good.

--
I agree about Pat. I worked for him about 7 years, starting in 93.
he had about 20 yrs experience then. He knows his stuff, but his
climbers are not necessarily certified arborists.

For second opinions, there are two criteria that can screen out the
hackers. One is certification by the International Society of
Arboriculture (link below; contains DB of Certified Arbs searchable by
zip code). This is fairly basic competency testing, but most CA's
should be able to offer good advice on native trees. Also,
www.treesaregood.com includes several ISA brochures that can help you
learn about tree care basics so you feel better informed when
discussing trees with your chosen arborist(s).

If you are really careful or suspect a serious problem, then look for
membership in American Society of Consulting Arborists (search
google--I don't have the link handy now). Pat Wentworth is both CA
and a member of ASCA last I checked, BTW.

In the YP, look under "arborist" instead of "tree services" to get a
list of companies that have tried to go beyond
I-bought-a-chainsaw-and-a-ladder tree companies.

good luck,

Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist #TX-236A
For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please
visit http://www.isa-arbor.com/home.asp.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www.treesaregood.com/

Thanks Keith and Victor. We'll be calling Pat.

Or you could call Keith.


Tyler