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Arborist Industry Credentials:
• Mapped old-growth eastern hemlock forests for NPS.
• Co-founded the Eastern Native Tree Society.
• Started Appalachian Arborists, Inc.
• Initiated the Tsuga Search Project (Tsuga is the Latin genus of hemlock, BTW).
Has been a tree climber for 22 years. Was trained in the Washington DC area then moved to western North Carolina to go to college. Will has a degree in Environmental Studies with concentrations in Forestry and Biology. After college Will spent five years as a forestry technician with the National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There, he focused on old-growth forests, particularly eastern hemlock forests to get ready for the arrival of hemlock woolly adelgid. Will started his tree care company, Appalachian Arborists, Inc. in 1998, which has since grown into a reputable and respected name in western North Carolina - www.appalachianarborists.com. In 1996 he co-founded the Eastern Native Tree Society and is currently president of the organization- www.nativetreesociety.org .
Appalachian Arborists, Inc. is the primary financial backer of the Tsuga Search Project, a research project dedicated to the documentation and preservation of exemplary eastern hemlock trees. This project has been Will's primary focus for the last year and a half and is nearing completion. http://www.nativetreesociety.org/tsuga/index_tsuga_search.htm .
SherrillTree Connection:
I have been buying my arborist supplies from Sherrill since 1998. I heard about SherrillTree from a previous employer. Tobe Sherrill, through the superb catalogs and magalogs illustrating new and proper techniques has likely made one of the biggest impacts on tree care and health than any other. He spreads the word in a friendly yet professional manner via a publication you can't help but to read cover to cover! The dude rules!
Tree Care Connection:
Take a deep breath... I have always been most at home in the forest or in a tree for as long as I can remember. My personal experiences in thousands of trees have given me a unique perspective and intuitive passion for such grand living beings. I feel I am a caretaker and voice for the forests that others may not yet appreciate. I am personal witness to the local extinction of the ancient eastern hemlock forests from the southern Appalachians. Through the Tsuga Search Project and others like it we can at least capture the best of a species before we lose it. The data gathered will assist in restoration and conservation efforts in the future. If nothing else, it may be an inspiration to others to take a stance on forest health issues. The largest of eastern evergreen conifers cannot go down unnoticed! |
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