Lookng for a Tree Appraisers

[Noble Zone]

I'm looking for a certified tree appraiser in the NW corner of Georgia. I need to get a cost basis damage appraisal. I'm 1.5 hours north of Atlanta, GA; 2 hours east of Birmingham, AL; and 30 minutes south of Chattanooga, TN.
I'd prefer someone who has no affiliation with any utility company. I'm currently in negotiations with a local utility concerning my trees and I need to know what I've lost, other than my 100 year old Christmas Tree which has been "effectively destroyed."
Also, is there any way I can save my 20 foot tall Northern White Cedar that has had 6 feet cut off the top and two trunk sections split. It's already turning brown and crumbles to the touch.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Noble Zone
I'm looking for a certified tree appraiser in the NW corner of Georgia.
there is no certification for tree appraisers. You can find a Registered Consulting Arborist at www.asca-consultants.org They all can do appraisals. You can find a certified arborist at www.isa-arbor.com, but only a few of those can.

Also, is there any way I can save It's already turning brown and crumbles to the touch. [/B]

Anything dry is dead. Looks bad.

 

[Noble Zone]

tree appraiser

You should have seen it last month before W.A. Kendall & Co., Inc. butchered it for NGEMC. It was gorgeous and full. Now, I'll lose my deer and rabbit that have always come around this tree. I know most arborist love trees, but those who are just butchers shouldn't even call themselves arborist. They are butchering trees all over Walker County. It even made front page news in our local paper. They claim the bigger cuts are better for the trees. The only one it's better for is the power company. I can not imagine cutting two (2 foot diameter) trunks is better for a tree than cutting a few small limbs. I know of at least 5 trees within a few blocks of my house that are dying from the drastic cut this year. Check out what they did to my Maple. it was hugh is trimmed away from the powerlines every few years. This time, they cut 2 of 4 trunks completely down. One trunk was only 8 feet tall. Wasn't close to the lines. The other went straight up and was as tall as the other 2 trunks (about 50 feet). If it'd been a threat to the power lines, they would have cut it more over the past 25 years.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Can't ID cedar from that pic--post a close-up?

How did those idiots get permission to cut your trees that were not near the lines?

That maple may endanger the lines MORE now that the two trunks are removed. the remaining two trunks will now move more in the wind.

I know an arborist in NE GA who may help you out; email me if you wnat help.

 

[Noble Zone]

They didn't have permission to do anything. I went home at lunch on Aug 11 to find my trees already destroyed. Plus, they left coke cans in my yard.
The maple probably won't endanger the lines because they lean away from it. They are endangering my life. They lean over my bedroom and now, have no counterbalance to help hold the roots in the ground. Those surface roots may not hold from the wind we'll get off Francis or whichever hurricane is floating through right now.

You can see my tree pictures at http://www.noblezone.net/test_page.htm
If it doesn't work, go to Noblezone.net and click on "My pitiful trees" at the bottom of the page.

 

[Toddppm]

Sorry but those Maples don't look like they had much if any value anyway. They've obviously been topped in major way before. They are in a right of way. The trunks they took off completely probably looked worse? They might have done you a favor by removing them completely instead of leaving some big topped off stubs.

 

[NeTree]

Wow...



First off, trust me... no "arborist" did that work. Utility hack, yes.

Secondly, follow the leads Guy posted to get the tree appraised and have a risk assesment done ASAP.

Todd, right-of-way notwithstanding, why is it that some companies need permission and others don't? I've noticed here in MA it varies widely. Here in Hardwick, they just cut, no permission necessary; up in North Shore, permissioning to trim is S.O.P. Odd, isn't it?

 

[NeTree]

Also, how do you figure they had little value?

I can envision the amount of shade, and therefore the decreased cost of cooling in summer.

I can see the windbreak in the winter, reducing heating costs.

Value is a multi-faceted term.

 

[Toddppm]

No permission needed here either I don't think, we just get notice in the mail they're coming.
Value as in replacement value. What are you going to replace a tree that's been hacked to death repeatedly over the years with? If it's unbalanced now it didn't happen all at once, It looks like the whole tree was whacked back to about 20 ft. at one point and the sprouts were allowed to form new trunks that look weakly attached?
Sure you might get some shade but where does the risk of failure outweigh the benefit of the shade? Not a very good looking tree either so not much ornamental value. Any pulpwood value there?
That possibly 100 year old Xmas tree? Doesn't seem like the decline started with the hacking, who knows why they topped that ?
Knowing what I've learned being around tree work for a while I don't know if I'd have been mad about what they did if they were mine except for the sloppy cuts? If I didn't know I guess I would be mad...but to go make a website about it and looking to try and sue:alien:

 

[NeTree]

Todd, let's start with the cedar:

I agree. i don't know why they'd touch it, since it was probably going to be dead long before it ever got near the lines. If you look at the photo on her site, you can clearly see these neat little holes:

As for the maples, without being there I'd have to say that removal is the best option now, nevermind getting into the why. Beauty however, is in the eye of the beholder, and what's hers is still hers. There's a lot of options the trimmers didn't avail themselves of.

 

[Toddppm]

Looks like sapsucker holes ?

 

[Noble Zone]

Butchered trees

The holes in the cedar are probably woodpecker since I hear them alot. A few years ago, there was a whole family of them in my yard. Other trees in the neighborhood (pecan especially) have holes. I've seen lots of woodpeckers pecking at it. Of couse, they are probably pecking at some insect. Is a sapsucker an insect?
The tree wasn't actually in decline. It had been, but it was coming back. It went into shock a few years ago when the power company decided one small limb was getting too close to the line. At the slow growth rate, it really wasn't. As soon as I saw the cut, I put a mud pack on it to stop the bleeding. Within a month, the sprays became brittle, but they didn't turn brown. I used a lot of love, water, and rabbit pellets to bring it back. This spring was the first time it had cones since that cut. I was hopeful it's be well enough to decorate this year. That's one reason it hurt me so much when they did such a drastic cut. After working so hard to get this tree back to life, and just as it was showing signs of improvement... I can't save it this time. I've known this tree for 45 years. It's a part of my family. It's Christmas.
Yes, the maple must go. To be honest, we discussed it for years. The reason it was still there, it had a really good shade. It shaded our whole yard and house. The 20 foot cut was done by the power line trimmers about 15 years ago. On that occasion, I came home at lunch and found them in my yard. They had already cut the two trunks (that are now missing) to 20 feet and had left the other two at about 50 feet. I asked them to cut them, also, because of the risk of them falling on the house. We had been afraid for a long time, but everyone wanted more than we could afford to make the cut. Within a few years after the cut, the tree had grown new limbs and was just as shady as before. It was an ugly tree when we moved in the house but the shade value can't be replaced in our lifetime. It is an even more ugly tree, now. We'll never have a full grown shade tree, again. We're too old to grow saplings into trees.
I didn't make a website about it. I parked some pictures on a page in my website because those of you who are responding asked for pictures. This forum only allows one picture, which isn't nearly enough to see anything, so I parked them on a page. As for sueing, I hope it doesn't come to that. But it's not right that they come on my property, unannounced, and butcher my trees. I've asked, three times, for a copy of the easement. Each time they tell me they are looking for it. But, so far, they haven't even proven that they have a right to have a pole in my yard.
Their rules and regulations say things like "minimal change," "minimum cut," "topping prohibited," "cutting of leaders is prohibited," and "not to detract from the natural beauty." I think they broke a few rules in my yard. If they had done what the other trimmers had done for the past 25 years, I would not have said a word. But there was a lot more than minimal change and minimum cut. When your neighbors start asking what happened to your trees, when their own trees had been trimmed, too, you gotta wonder what happened to your trees.
The reason I'm angry is because I'm not only going to lose every adult tree in my yard, but I'm also losing my deer and rabbit and birds. The first day after the cut, I burned my fingers cranking my truck. I've parked in the same place for 25 years and now, I'm not in a shade.
Their cuts will change my life. From what I look at when I first wake up, to the convenience of a shade over my truck, to the sounds of nature in my yard; nothing will ever be the same, again. A house without trees has no appeal to us. Why would we want to live here without trees or birds? What will our yard be like without deer browsing our cedar? It's one of our morning routines...sitting, drinking coffee, watching the deer and rabbit. But, they're gone, now. Because the tree is dying. They still browsed after it went into shock last time. That was one of the things that kept giving me hope that it would live. This time, I haven't seen deer in a couple of weeks. There is no hope. Not for the tree, not for us. Old people need old trees. We can't start over.
Hopefully, Francis will push the Maple over on my house when she comes through tomorrow. The supervisor at W.A. Kendall said he would buy me a new house if the tree fell within a year.

It ain't right, what they do, and somebody has to stand up and say so. I guess it's gonna be me.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Removals are NOT tree care

Erik if you're pointing to teeny holes made by a little birdie and telling people
"it was probably going to be dead long before it ever got near the lines"
then you are mongering fear on the order of saying ants make trees unsafe.

That is pushing removals by exaggerating a very common little pest into Godzilla.

I've seen extreme sapsucker damage disfigure trees only rarely. Sapsuckers can be repelled by putting mustard and cayenned where they have been feeding.

Todd I agree that suing is to be avoided but strenuous negotiations seem called for here. Sloppy cuts are just an insult; removing all that plant material for no reason was an injury that can and should be compensated.

 

[NeTree]

Yeah, you're right. What do I know?

 

[Noble Zone]

butchered trees

I want all of you to know I really appreciate your talking about my trees. I've learned so much. But, I still don't know what kind of cedar it is. That's on the other thread that I started.
Anyway, thought you might like to see what it looked like before the cut. These are not great pictures, but it's all we've found, so far. (I'm hoping my neighbors have pictures with my trees in the background because all my pictures have their trees.)
These pictures are from a house appraisal that was done 8 years ago. You can really see how bad the maple's been cut in the past.
The first picture shows the maple with the cedar on the right edge. This picture actually shows all of the shortest trunk. It was cut about 5 feet lower than the power line.
In the second picture, the shortest trunk doesn't show, because it's shorter than the house (and powerlines). The middle trunk in this picture is now missing. The top of the cedar is in the middle of the picture.
The third picture doesn't show my property at all. It's the rest of the neighborhood.
These pictures were taken in winter.

 

[NeTree]

Re: Removals are NOT tree care

Originally posted by Guy Meilleur
Erik if you're pointing to teeny holes made by a little birdie and telling people
"it was probably going to be dead long before it ever got near the lines"
then you are mongering fear on the order of saying ants make trees unsafe.

That is pushing removals by exaggerating a very common little pest into Godzilla.

Well, no. You see, the difference between you and I is pretty simple:

I tell it like it is. You can go over there and charge her for applying some French's, and in the end, it's still going to die. Then you can get more money for a removal, too.

Beutiful thing, those little holes. They allow all kinds of stuff to get in there. And in that nice GA heat? I'll bet moisture was just escaping in droves, too.

But alas, I'm just a right-wing, tree-murderering "urban logger" to you, so what do I know?

 

[Noble Zone]

tree appraisal

I find the differences in opinion fascinating. I've looked at Erik's and Guy's websites. You can learn a lot about a company by the way they present themselves on-line. There are major differences between the two companies.
If I wanted to have a tree cut down, I might be inclined to hire Erik. He probably has lower prices than Guy. I'd never hire Erik if I wanted to save a tree. Erik's website doens't indicate any desire to save nature, just get it out of the way when it's a nuisance.
Guy, on the other hand, would probably do anything to save it. He doesn't want to remove it unless it is absolutely necessary. And, I appreciate his cheap country remodies.
Yes, you would probably spend less with Erik. And, after giving Guy a fortune, the results could still be removal. That's where a customer would have to decide how much they loved their tree and how far they are willing to go to try saving it. Too bad Guy is so far away.
Personally, I've saved many a tree that everyone gave up for dead, including this Cedar, and I'm no arborist (I just know a lot of cheap country remodies). I've also cut down many beautiful trees because they were a nuisance. I understand both view points.
Both Erik and Guy are correct. The cedar is going to die. It was sick before the cut. However, it would have lived and become even more beautiful if it hadn't been cut. I spent a lot of time and effort making it better. It had already begun showing drastic signs of improvement.

 

[Nathan Wreyford]

Re: tree appraisal

Originally posted by Noble Zone
And, after giving Guy a fortune, the results could still be removal. That's where a customer would have to decide how much they loved their tree and how far they are willing to go to try saving it.

A lot of people try to spend their client's money for them. I am more up for laying out the options and possibilities for success and then let the customer spend their money.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

I got the mustard-and-cayenne treatment from a compound called "Chew-Stop", that I put on the barn where horses were cribbing. Then by experimentation I found it works on beavers and sapsuckers too.

A spray can costs $10, so I looked at the ingredients, and the main ones were...mustard and cayenne. I carry the cans with me to sell but tell folks they can make their own in a blender. So as far as "spending people's money for them", or "giving Guy a fortune", let's be real. I avoid that too.

"the difference between you and I is pretty simple:I tell it like it is."
Erik you saw a few sapsucker holes that were sealing with sap and said the tree was done for. Is that "like it is", or how an urban logger wants it to be?

"in the end, it's still going to die. Then you can get more money for a removal, too.'
Wrong on both counts. I sub big removals to urban loggers.

"Beutiful thing, those little holes. They allow all kinds of stuff to get in there. And in that nice GA heat? I'll bet moisture was just escaping in droves, too."
You're still saying the sapsuckers do more damage than they do.
That is not what an arborist should do. I saw a dead pecan today that was riddled with sapsucker holes, and told the lady they may have been a factor in the tree's death. But that was RARE.

"I'm just a tree-murderering "urban logger" to you, so what do I know?"
Less than I previously gave you credit for, apparently. Next time you see a hole in a tree, it will either be a reason for removal or a call to preservation. I encourage you take the path toward preservation, the arborist's way. The tree's cup is half full.

In the field we would not be that far apart on too many trees, I'm sure of that. So let's keep it oK?

 

[NeTree]

Noble, you didn't get to see much of my site, then.