Causton James Consulting Arborist

Information may not be reliable

Thank you for visiting our website. Our objectives are to introduce ourselves to you as Consulting Arborists, and to make available as much up to date, scientifically researched tree information as possible.

We believe that trees in our yards, streets, parks and communities are exceedingly important because of all the things they do and what they represent to us. However trees growing in an urban environment are generally growing under very hostile and un-natural conditions. They are subjected to stresses, injuries and restrictions they would not naturally encounter in a forest, and therefore require the best of care available.
At the same time as the trees are being subjected to these stresses we are increasing populations of people in close proximity to them and frequent conflicts arise between needs of the trees and perceived needs of people. We feel our job and our responsibility, as Consulting Arborists is to help resolve those conflicts, using the most up to date knowledge and technologies available to us, and, at the same time not risk creating greater problems for trees or people.
We do not look to simple solutions, answers or fixes to problems, rather we try to look at causes of problems and then work to remedy them from there. We try to adopt a broad management approach where we take into consideration all of the component parts of a problem and relate the interactions between them.
Despite all our successes we are still proud to call ourselves students, we do not want to claim we know it all, we enjoy learning too much for that, hence we allocate a substantial amount of our annual budget for ongoing education and new, updated publications.

Some of the Consulting Arborist services we offer and subjects on which we provide information and our expertise are: -

Tree Inspections and Hazard Evaluation: A process for determining the health and structural condition of a tree. This is done in order to assess the potential liabilities that could be incurred if any part of the tree failed (broke or gave way).

Tree Preservation on Construction and Development Sites: A system for selecting and protecting trees from damage caused by construction equipment and site changes, from initial planning through completion of the project.

Tree Appraisals: A method of establishing a monetary value of a tree in terms other than the value of its products. The process involves looking at the aesthetic value of the tree and its function in the landscape, rather than the value of the saw logs, firewood or other products that could be derived from it.

Slope Stabilization: Management of trees and other vegetation on unstable cliffs, bluffs and steep slopes, in order to reduce the likelihood of erosion or landslides.

Tree Restoration: Identification of the treatment or work required to overcome the effects of neglect or physical damage inflicted on trees.

Tree / View conflicts: Managing trees and other vegetation in areas where conflicts exist between established plants and potential views.

Tree Work Specification Writing: Writing specific details of work to be performed on trees, using National Industry Standards (ANSI A300, Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance-Standard Practices), which can be clearly understood by a qualified contractor. The format of the document would normally be immediately usable in order to solicit competitive bids for tree work. Specifications would be written in a manner that would preclude the possibility of work being performed that would be detrimental to the tree.

The business office is located in Northwestern Washington, near Seattle and can be reached by email at
james@northwestarborist.com