Example Articles from the March TCI Magazine
In June of 2017 in the northern suburbs of Chicago, we experienced drenching rains accompanied by high winds. One unfortunate result of this was that two black oak trees (quercus velutina) uprooted, blew over and landed on two homes.
There is something truly special about trees that draws people to them. We build our lives around them. We live and breathe with them. But every once in a while we have to lay them to rest.
Arborists agree that in the majority of pruning scenarios, maintaining two hands on a top-handle chain saw while in operation ensures proper control and minimizes kickback. But in certain situations, some argue, one-handed operation is acceptable – or even preferred. What’s the true answer?
What if you had a worker who never got hurt, never got tired and always was ready to be on the job? What if that worker allowed you to minimize your workforce or freed up other highly qualified crew members for additional or more lucrative jobs?
There is no field protocol for simple tree-load analysis that I know of. Yet the basic principles of load analysis should be made available to arborists and tree managers everywhere as a standard tool for everyday work.