TCI Magazine Audio Edition

BY CHRIS GIRARD Recently, Girard Tree Service LLC, which I co-own and operate with my wife, Heide, was asked to take down a lightning-struck white pine tree (Pinus strobus) on an island here in New Hampshire. Due to the remote location and terrain, everything would have to be climbed and rigged down by hand. On top of that, there were no adjacent trees for me to remotely tie in to and use as a bac...

BY ERIC PETERSEN By now, almost every practicing arborist has probably been involved in at least one conversation with a customer regarding their homeowner’s insurance company threatening to cancel their policy unless a tree or branch that is close to their home is removed. There often is no scientific basis for the removal expectation, leaving the homeowner confused and anxious about what they sh...

BY JOE LEGATE A couple of years ago, we were contacted to remove a linden tree growing on the side of a cliff at the Elora Gorge, on the Grand River about 70 miles west of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. The tree was approximately 25 feet down from the top/edge of the limestone cliff and about 100 feet above the river below. The linden was leaning toward the spa building of the Elora Mill, which is a...

BY DANIEL SHULTS The adoption of grapple trucks and grapple saws transformed debris management in several ways for Bob Ray Co. Inc., an accredited, 55-year TCIA member company based in Louisville, Kentucky. For instance, the company was out in early May 2025 performing storm cleanup after tornadoes passed through the Louisville area. In years past, the company might have dispatched five to six thr...

BY JIM KASPER Across neighborhoods in the U.S., something strange is happening. Homeowners are receiving notices from their insurance companies warning them, “Prune back those limbs overhanging your home or lose your coverage.” The offending branches? Those on trees that overhang roofs – even healthy, structurally sound trees and branches. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by...

BY TCHUKKI ANDERSEN, BCMA, CTSP In the tree care industry, communication is more than just convenience – it’s a safety essential. That’s why arborists Charlie White, CTSP, QT (TCIA Qualified Trainer), and Angel Arroyo, both with Northern Tree Service, a 48-year TCIA member company based in Palmer, Massachusetts, recently spent time field testing the Zoleo Satellite Communicator. They wanted to see...

BY JAMES HOUSTON Over the past 40 years, our industry has experienced a remarkable advancement in the quality of training offered to professionals. What was once a largely informal, hands-on trade has grown into a highly specialized field backed by science, standardized practices and a strong emphasis on safety and environmental stewardship. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine b...

BY BAILEY GRAVES After months of uncertainty stemming from executive orders issued by President Trump and ongoing litigation, a federal judge has ordered the resumption of funding for urban and community forestry grants established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY KATHY GLASSEY Despite decades of experience in the pesticide industry, certain areas of pesticide handling and safety still pose challenges. Every stakeholder, manufacturer, distributor and end user has a responsibility to ensure safe and legal handling, transportation and application of pesticides. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY KRISTOFFER RASMUSSEN, CTSP, QCL For tree-service companies, the open road is as much a workplace as the treetops. Operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), such as chip trucks, aerial lifts and log loaders, demands strict adherence to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations – a complex web of rules that can feel like untangling a knotted rope. Remember to get your free...

BY KRISTOFFER RASMUSSEN, CTSP, QCL Drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) with limited English proficiency (LEP) are about to face a significant regulatory shake-up that could have real consequences for the tree care industry. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY TAMSIN VENN For Timothy Brogan, gaining TCIA’s Certified Treecare Safety Professional credential (CTSP) was a way to empower him to teach other tree care professionals the tools needed to increase their longevity in the industry through safe practices and a safety-culture mindset.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY JOHN BALL, PH.D., BCMA, CTSP, and Mike Tilford, CTSP Who is a tree worker? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) spent a lot of time and effort  defining this – through the questions they asked of small business representatives during SBREFA (Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act) – concerning the scope and application of a proposed rule. Remember to get your fre...

BY PATRICIA CHAUDOIN Rebecca Johnson, founder and owner of Arborholic LLC, has a list of arborist credentials a mile long, but laughs when she says she’s never worked full time for a tree care company. “I actually ended up in forestry kind of by default,” she says of her degree from Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY AARON SCHAUER, CTSP, WITH ERIC PETERSEN This is the first installment of a two-part article. Part 1 looks at the benefits of being a subcontractor and working with subcontractors. Part 2, in a future issue of TCI Magazine, will look at how to become and operate as a subcontractor. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

TCI Magazine corralled the climbing arborists of Girard Tree Service, a 17-year TCIA member company based in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, to test drive and review the DMM Kinisi Max climbing saddle. They shared their initial impressions and experiences for this article and a related video  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY TIM BARTELT There are symbiotic relationships across the natural world, with organisms counting on other organisms for success and survival. Symbiotic relationships also exist in the corporate environment, with one organization working with another organization for success and, in this case, tree survival. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY DAVID VINCENT Safety programs are the lifeline of every company – they ensure everyone goes home at the end of the day in the same condition they arrived. Yet too often these programs become ineffective. They’re rolled out with fanfare, only to end up as binders gathering dust, neglected by leaders who see them as “someone else’s job” or training sessions no one remembers. Why? Because they fai...

BY CHRISTOPHER LULEY, PH.D. Billions upon billions of ash trees are dying or have been killed by emerald ash borer (EAB) in both urban and forested environments in the U.S. and Canada. (Photo 1) With time, the ash all will be returned back to the soil and air from whence they came. For better or for worse, arborists are often in the middle of this process of removal and renewal. Remember to get yo...

BY JONATHAN FOOTE, CTSP, CCO Watch out for the mechanical beasts! For years now, I have been asked the question with regard to cranes, “Are you worried these machines will steal your job?” I simply reply, “No, we complement each other.” Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY KRISTOFFER RASMUSSEN, CTSP I was in Washington, D.C., April 30, 2025, during the breathtaking peak of the cherry tree blossoms. Millions of people flock to the Tidal Basin each year to witness this explosion of color, and I was no exception. Children ran and played beneath the pink canopy, lovers strolled hand in hand, pausing for selfies with the blossoms as their backdrop. Remember to get you...

BY KATHY GLASSEY As a pesticide-application company, compliance with regulations is not just a legal requirement, it’s a fundamental part of operating safely and responsibly. One of the most important regulations you need to be aware of is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the sale, use and distribution of pesticides in the United States. Remember to ge...

BY MICHAEL HOPPE Originating in parts of Europe and Asia, Rhamnus cathartic, aka buckthorn, was brought to these shores intended to be a welcome addition to our native landscaping stock. Now that it has gone feral, pushing its way into many necks of our urban forests and crowding out native species, it has worn out that welcome. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking he...

BY DAVID M. ANDERSON, CTSP A    mentor of mine would always say to me, “You are what you put up with. You are not your safest job, you are your least safe job. You’re not your best employee, you are your worst. You are not your best client-service-interaction experience, you are your worst.” From this perspective, we can be driven to be our best – not perfect, but the best we can be.  Remember to...

BY DAVID WHITE, CAE The following is the text of the “2025 State of the Association” speech presented by David White, TCIA president and CEO, during the Association’s annual business meeting, held during Winter Management Conference on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, this past February. It has been edited slightly for brevity. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking her...