waht makes you the same?

I guess I am a bit unique, or maybe even odd. Ten year ago I began tree work as the go to guy when a tree failed. I was mentored by a climbing arborist. He told me what his spin on what ARBORICULTURE was. As I have a background in Bio-Sci, and am a farmer, it intrigued me how the trees grew, lived and ultimately died. It was apparent that the work was also physically demanding, which was also Up my alley.

You have to understand, I live in a part of the world where trees are few and far between. I usually joke that I can watch my dog run away for three days, which is a stretch of the truth, but you get the picture. Where we have trees, they are abundant and usually large. There has always been a "Tree Guy" in every small town. These people are usually gardeners that know a bit about trees. I took this as a challenge and decided that the best thing I could do (considering I am older AND have a farm) was to become a ISA Certified Arborist.

We have built a nice little operation, that services every aspect of the tree industry. From helping people decide what to plant to hazardous crane removals. When the economy began to tank, I had a revelation, as we live in an agricultural community, where people are used to DIY, I realized that most of my work to date are jobs that the tree owner COULDN'T do themselves.

A year and a half ago we purchased a bandsaw mill. The purpose was to maximize the value of our scrap (logs to big for the 12 inch chipper). We have always let the tree owner have dibs on the chips, and wood but everything we can legally bring home gets SOLD. At the Prairie Chapter TCC last June I was suprised to learn that a couple of the other operations in the chapter now own sawmills to VALUE ADD.

When I remove a tree now, I do so thinking of what value I could get out of the wood IF I cut it a certain way. BTW I haven't cut any trees down that don't need to be removed, and have declined to remove large healthy trees that set seed for a couple weeks. we operate on two very basic principles, give your client a goods days work for a fair price (that is beneficial to both you and the client) and NEVER let a client spend good money on a BAD project.

So I am A Certified Arborist, with everything from secateurs to a small crane, including a mill that will cut 30" diameter logs 20' in length.

WHAT does that make me???
 
Treedi, I believe that makes you more than a logger. I have respect for the logger as well dont get me wrong. You are an arborist with many special services like all of us. But you are also in my mind, an "urban logger"...its a great, and unique. awesome story, thanks for sharing.
 
Jomoco, what a great story. I am betting you could teach me alot about this industry, and I have been at it over twenty five years!. Still, what do you consider yourself? Does "urban logger" fit part of the title? I believe it does....
 
I do NOT consider what we do logging. Logging to me is a specialized field full of heavy machinery, and precision felling, AWAY from obstacles such as homes, sheds, cars, drives, etc,

When we do removals on a property, even if it is a flop, chances are you are flopping it near, or away from something in that environment. Out in the woods you worry about snags, blocking the road, and others.

Most times we have to climb the specimen and piece it down, usually involving rigging from simple natural crotches to extremely intricate setups involving speedlines and GRCS.

Loggers cant prune! Loggers cant hang from the ball of the crane and take that 75' pine tree down in 2 picks. Loggers don't turn overgrown apple trees into flowering fruit producers. Loggers don't drag and chip brush.

Arborists don't fell logs strictly for the market value. Arborists don't know how to setup a landing for logs, trucks, and machinery. Arborists don't cut their tree trunks to certain lengths for the mills, we cut them that long so they chip easier!

I know that some of us have crossed over into each field, I have done logging on a small scale, and I have worked with Loggers on residential sites. We were both lost in each others respective environments.

To call us loggers or Urban loggers just isn't right. Urban logging to me is clear cutting a 1/2 acre lot in Boston for a new building/house!

Be Safe no matter what you call yourself!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Jomoco, what a great story. I am betting you could teach me alot about this industry, and I have been at it over twenty five years!. Still, what do you consider yourself? Does "urban logger" fit part of the title? I believe it does....

[/ QUOTE ]

I consider myself a a strategic removal expert, who dabbles in cabling and bracing as a lucrative hobby.

Actually the convergence of loggers and tree services that occurred after the Cedar Fires in the Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead areas of SoCal was in many respects a complete fiasco that made the tree services look real bad in comparison to the certified timber operators that ended up doing the vast majority of the work after all was said and done.

Dozens of climbers died, many more were injured or crippled.

In my mind it was proof that the highest paid and most productive companies deserve to get the lion's share when the going gets rough.

For me it was great being paid big bucks for my removal expertise, but doing hairball bigwood catching dead tree removal day after day 5-6 days a week almost nonstop gets old. Hearing horror stories about the climber that got knocked out of a big cedar by a logger felling another cedar into his, etc, etc got real old.

There's a company out of N.Carolina called Phillips&Jordan that chases federal and state storm cleanup contracts throughout the US, and as I recall they were the big dogs that subbed to all the loggers and tree service companies during that whole time.

I learned alot about loggers during that time, and while they aren't the best at dealing with strategic takedowns by any means, I learned to respect their ability to mechanize their work and reach production quotas that I never dreamed were even possible. Their work ethic is sunup to sundown everyday, as many millable board feet delivered as possible.

The loggers certainly kicked butt on the tree services during those years of post fire anarchy in the mountains above San Bernadino CA.

jomoco
 
I am an Arborist and I'm OK!

YOu know the rest of the song :)

Arborist is no more a made-up word than logger...do the etymology.

Guy wrote the best, concise, defintion in the thread...so far.

When I have to be a mortician I may come a step closer to being a logger. Over the years I've salvaged a few logs from the chip pile or stove but that hardly makes my work logging.
 
Tom, Im not trying to say that I am a logger. But my definition of an "urban" logger is an arborist doing tech. removals. Just a piece of many talents of the trade. The big "green" movement has made more folks aware of alturnatives for salvaging even urban wood.
 
Well, another arborist and I just removed three 50 to 60 foot tall conifers from the front of my own home. Layed one across the street, and two in pieces. Also removed a weak sweetgum in the back, and a Norway maple shading a potential garden spot. Removed a severely leaning Scotch pine.

And saved an old Magnolia and four 60 foot conifers - 2 Doug fir, grand fir and deodar cedar. Have also planted replacements of 3 beech, 3 vine maples, 1 Japanese maple and 4 apple trees.

Now ... what I did for us, is a lot of what I do for others.

Problem trees were culled - improving the enviroment and safety.

The whole yard was redesigned more aesthetically, providing areas for food production and variety.

In most cases, the people we are involved with have a pretty decent reason for removing trees. Typically to provide some benefit the tree is preventing.

One customer even beat me to it this winter. He called a couple of weeks ago to expand a planting around the water feature I installed last year. He cut down 2 weeping blue atlas cedar trees that the previous owner planted right in front of the entry doorway and allowed them to grow under the cieling area of the entry. And honestly, when I first drove up to decide the plant list, I thought what he did looked great. The whole process is basically recycling and replacing inferior or worn out with better. The old gets pulverized, and added to gardens, where it's taken back up into other plants and re-merged with life again.

So urban logger is not any niche I relate to. I'm an arborist and landscape technician who performs plant care, improves safety and magnifies the aethetic appeal of our local environment.
 
I never thought so many people were spending time thinking of what to call themselves. I call myself an Arborist, but as long as my customers are calling me "My Tree Guy", I'm happy!
 
you have a masters I'm calling ya Doctor.

Though, from some pics I've seen you make a good hair stylist. PUN intended.
wink.gif
 
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