First, what is a certified arborist and what is the ISA? Well, the ISA is the International Society of
Arboriculture and it is a non-profit that works to improve tree care and public education about trees across the world. To become an ISA Certified Arborist you have to first have three years of experience in the industry, then you take an exam with 16 different domains covering topics such as tree biology, tree ID, soil science, pruning and plant health care, just to name a few. This is an extensive examination that tests our knowledge of trees, how they grow, how they work and how to care for them.

Once you pass this exam and become an ISA Certified Arborist, you have to obtain 30 continuing
education credits every three years in order to renew your certificate. This keeps us up to date on new scientific discoveries, research on pruning and new pests that may become an issue in your area.

Why should you only hire ISA Certified Arborists to care for your trees? Because they have put forth the effort to learn all about trees and how they work, how to do that work safely and you will know that your arborist knows about proper tree care. You see, trees don’t heal, they seal. This means that everything we do to a tree, such as pruning, will always be there. The way trees deal with injury is to carry out what is called CODIT or Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees. They produce chemical barriers to keep decay from forming in the tissue of the tree, and then they grow new tissue that covers the injury. So if someone makes a bad cut on your tree, it can cause serious issues.

The ISA has a number of different credentials, such as utility arborist (for working around power lines), municipal arborist (that’s your city arborists), and the highest level of the ISA certification is the Board Certified Master Arborist. There are also other organizations that offer credentialing in the industry of Arboriculture.

The TCIA, or Tree Care Industry of America offers multiple certifications such as Chainsaw Specialist, Chipper Specialist and Certified Treecare Safety Professional.

ASCA or the American Society of Consulting Arborists is an organization that works with consulting arborists, who specialize in tree inspections, tree appraisal, tree conflicts and court cases, such as injury from a failed tree.

Here at Idaho Tree Preservation we hold over 45 different qualifications and certifications across our 9 field arborists. We have 4 Certified Arborists, 1 Board Certified Master Arborist, 1 ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist, 4 ISA TRAQ, 2 horticulturists as well as numerous of the TCIA credentials. Two of our team are Qualified Trainers who teach the TCIA credentials to others in our industry. We believe very strongly in on-going training and education and you can be sure that when you hire ITP to work with you on your trees, you are getting the highest level of training and knowledge in the state.

Whomever you hire to care for your trees, make sure they are ISA Certified Arborists and carry proper insurance, including workman’s comp for their employees.

Take good care of your trees, and they will provide enormous benefits for years and years.