A Comprehensive Guide To Tree Surveys and Mitigation A Comprehensive Guide To Tree Surveys and Mitigation

Date September 29, 2023

Author TreeNewal Staff

Communities nationwide use tree surveys to preserve their wildlife and ensure optimal health among their trees. Professionals can conduct tree surveys to examine trees in various areas, including private property and public spaces. Explore this comprehensive guide to tree surveys and mitigation to ensure you’re ready when it’s time to conduct one.

What Is a Tree Survey?

Image via Unsplash by Valerie V

A tree survey is an evaluation of trees in a particular area, typically using professional tools and specific criteria. For example, tree surveyors pay attention to these details when evaluating a tree:

  • Age
  • Overall health
  • Species and scientific name
  • Measurements
  • Management tips
  • Life expectancy

Tree surveys can happen for many reasons, such as determining the viability of a tree or preventing the accidental removal of federally protected species.

What Is Tree Mitigation?

Sometimes, it’s necessary to remove protected trees from an area, such as when there’s an upcoming construction project. In these cases, professionals use tree mitigation, a process for planning the safe removal of protected species and compensating the property owner. When hiring a professional tree service such as TreeNewal for tree mitigation, certified arborists can evaluate the conditions of the tree in question and develop a mitigation plan for removing it safely while minimizing your costs.

Why Tree Surveys Are Important

Many factors contribute to the importance of tree surveys, including the fact that they allow people to evaluate the current health of trees. Completing a tree survey can enable experts to identify potential illnesses or weaknesses in a tree, such as decay, diseases, or branches that may fall.

Tree surveys are also important for complying with federal, state, and community regulations about environmental planning. For instance, many areas have rules that require people to get tree surveys to determine whether they have any protected trees and develop plans for protecting them and the other wildlife that’s planted nearby.

Tree Surveys in Urban Planning and Development

Tree surveys play a key role in urban planning and development, as they can guide the work of urban planners and architects. For instance, an urban planner may review a tree survey to determine which trees to keep in an area when developing a public park.

Tree surveys can also help identify trees in urban areas that may need removal for the safety of the public, such as those with dead or weakened branches that have the potential to fall off and become airborne hazards. A tree survey can help an urban planner decide where to place roads, walkways, green spaces, and other aspects of infrastructure.

Let TreeNewal Get You Ready for Your Next Tree Survey

If you’re getting ready for an upcoming tree survey, let TreeNewal guide you. Our team of certified arborists can help you prepare for the survey to ensure your trees are in the best shape. When you need an actual survey, TreeNewal can still help you, as our specially trained team can perform a range of tree assessments that can give you all the information you’re looking for. Contact us today to let us know how we can help make the tree survey process easier for you.