Reply To: Fined for Pruning a Tree

Good article. It is good to see that there are professionals not more concerned with job preservation than actually doing their jobs. Topping trees is an archaic form of arboriculture that is no longer recommended by any of the professional arboricultural  associations. I worked in a county where it was illegal to do so but the initial penalty was a slap on the wrist, a letter from the code enforcement officer. A letter is insufficient in the case of topping where once the tree is damaged in this way it will never be the same again. It becomes a maintenance issue because the epicormic growth that ensues will be even more aggressive and poorly attached than the initial structural branches that were removed. Cheers to the Forester that took the stand to teach the community about the importance of following ordinances that are based in reason.