Update for Volunteers:

Dear Certified Arborist Volunteer,

Thanks again for volunteering to join other Texas Certified Arborists to help out the folks in Aransas County with post-Hurricane Harvey tree assessments this weekend. Below is some information to help you get ready.

• Why are we doing this?
  • To help a devastated community by providing professional consulting services for the care of trees that have survived the hurricane.
• What are we doing?
  • Teams of Certified Arborists will be visiting preassigned residential and non-profit properties to assess trees to provide the residents with recommendations for proper care and risk management.
• Where are we doing this?
  • In Aransas county for trees located on improved landscape areas of private single and two-family residential properties, and non-profit properties where a target may be impacted should a part or a whole tree failure occur.
• How are we doing it?
  • We will be providing limited Level 1, ground-based assessment of tree condition on trees eight (8) inches and greater dbh using the TFS Tree Risk app on our smartphones.Trees needing further action will be marked with colored surveyors tape.
• Are we pruning trees?
  • Bring your pole saw but we may not be able to do this given the number of assessments. We have almost 200 properties to assess and providing the level 1 assessment is our first priority so we will have to see how it goes. Our scope of work is that we can prune from on the ground, select removal of dead, damaged, or diseased branches greater than two (2) inches diameter. Our scope of work does not include: removal of trees and large scaffold branches greater than six (6) inches diameter. There is no oak wilt in Aransas County but wound painting is recommended on oaks.
• What will the property owner get?
  • They will get the level 1 trees marked on their improved landscape and a handout that describes what was found and what to do next. They will also be provided with an email report from ISAT from the data you collect.

Here is some other information you will need:

• Meeting Location: we will be meeting at the Harbor Oaks Shopping Center in Rockport at 10 am this Saturday. We will also meet there on Sunday morning.
• Data Collection: Please download the Texas A&M Forest Service ‘Tree Risk’ app to your phone from here. This is the easy to use way we will be recording Level 1 tree risk data. We will go over the app on Saturday before we head out but you can get the data collection instructions here. Go ahead and enter one or two trees and email the results to yourself to see how it works.
• What to Bring: 
  • Smartphone with Tree Risk app loaded
  • Backup battery if you need one
  • Clipboard
  • Copy of data collection instructions
  • PPE
• Where to stay: There are several hotels in the Rockport area including the LaQuinta and Corpus Christi has many hotels and is about 30 minutes away.

On behalf of the ISA Texas Chapter, Rockport City Council, Aransas County Commissioner Court, the Aransas County Long-Term Recovery Team, Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas A&M Forest Service and the citizens of Rockport – Thank you for your service and see you this Saturday!

Mark Bird

Texas Chapter International Society of Arboriculture

mark.bird@sanantonio.gov

(210) 216-0265

Are you an ISA Certified Arborist who wants to give something back?

Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. MLK

You are invited to join your fellow Texas ISA Certified Arborists in the Rockport area to provide tree assessments to help hard-hit residents to recover from Hurricane Harvey. We will be giving our help on MLK weekend on Saturday, January 13th, and Sunday, January 14th, 2018.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Aransas County in August and devastated the wonderful windswept oak forest that is the signature look of the area. Extensive emergency tree work has already been done on public property, but there are many private residents who were hit hard by the storm that still need assistance from a professional arborist.

The Texas Chapter ISA is working with local elected officials, disaster coordinators, the Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas A&M AgriLife and others to bring trained Certified Arborists and local citizens together. We will match you with hard-hit Rockport area residents who need help to assess the condition of their trees.

Scope of Work:

• Requests for assessments from citizens will be coordinated by the Aransas County AgriLife office.
• Only current ISA Certified Arborists will conduct assessments.
• Only limited, ground-based visual Level 1 tree assessments will be performed.
• The Texas A&M Forest Service Tree Risk Mobile App will be used to collect data on your smart phone or tablet (training will be provided).
• Only trees on residential and non-profit property (no commercial or public) will be assessed.
• Only trees greater than 8” in diameter at chest height (dbh) in the improved areas of maintained landscapes will be assessed.
• Limited, from the ground pruning (pole saw, no climbing) may also be offered at the discretion of the Certified Arborist on site.

Deadline to register is Wednesday, January 10, 2017 at 5 p
m