Most people are familiar with Tree Climbers or “Work Arborists” who do the hands-on work to care for and maintain trees, but there are also those who specialize in advising others on how best to care for their property’s trees. This type of Arborist is called a Consulting Arborist. They often have the added credential of being an ISA Certified Arborist, but that is just one aspect of their expertise. Consulting Arborists offer a wide range of services that include assessing the health and risk of your existing trees, providing tree inventories, writing reports and specifications, expert witness services, hazard assessments and Value Appraisals. Many are members of the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) which means they continue to receive education, training and adhere to a set of professional standards that help them stay at the forefront of their field.
The main difference between a working Arborist and a Consulting Arborist is that the working Arborist is focused on the physical work of caring for trees, while the Consulting Arborist is more involved in advice and analysis. This is not to say that working Arborists are not valuable or important, but simply that the work a Consulting Arborist does tends to be more varied and complicated than the work done by a working Arborist.
A Consulting Arborist’s most common job is helping a developer create a Tree Protection Plan for a project. This process begins long before construction starts with a visit to the site where an Arborist takes inventory of the trees and assesses their health and hazard potential. This information is then used to develop design recommendations that will allow the existing trees to be preserved during construction. This is a critical role as it is easy for unintended impacts to occur when construction workers are unfamiliar with the site and its existing trees.
It takes continued collaboration between the Consulting Arborist, designers, engineers and contractors throughout construction to ensure that existing mature trees can be preserved. It is only through this commitment that a development can emerge that provides shade, privacy and beauty for its residents without compromising the safety of pedestrians or the integrity of the building structure.
source https://axetreeservices.wordpress.com/2025/06/17/what-does-a-consulting-arborist-do/
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