TREE RISK ASSESSMENT is a detailed evaluation of factors affecting the risk of failure of a part of a tree or the entire tree and the risk of harm or injury to property or people.

TRAQ stands for Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.  This requires a detailed didactic and hands-on training session for arborists.  It gives them the opportunity to earn the TRAQ qualification.  

A TRAQ qualified arborist can then do a detailed assessment of a tree that shows evidence of factors that could be considered as risk factors for failure.  

Cavities (hollowed out areas in the trunk of a tree), leaning of a tree, dead branches or broken branches, mushrooms growing on a tree or its roots, dying out of the top of a tree, newly observed protrusion of roots from the ground, and other concerns often prompt the need for an evaluation of the safety and viability of a tree.  

We recommend that an evaluation of risk be done by a TRAQ CERTIFIED ARBORIST.  

We will always have an arborist with this qualification and experience in our company.  Currently, Jonathan Getzinger, BCMA, is both a board certified master arborist and is TRAQ qualified.  

CAUTION:  If a tree in your landscape is showing any signs concerning to you and you would like to keep the tree (because it adds beauty or balance or for sentimental reasons)  then a risk appraisal would be in order before just cutting it down. 

MOST OF THE TIME, the signs of potential risk are not reasons to sacrifice a tree.  An experienced risk appraisal can determine whether the risks can be mitigated (by trimming, bracing, cabling, etc).  MOST of our risk appraisals do not result in advice to remove a tree.

ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT:  Do not accept an off-the-cuff opinion of risk from someone who does not do or is not qualified to do a tree risk appraisal unless you were planning to cut the tree down anyway.  If you like a tree and would like to keep it, then a comprehensive risk appraisal is warranted (and is much less expensive than tree removal costs).