There are many reasons why an oak tree may be declining. Some of the most common reasons include: oak wilt fungi, blight, chlorosis, stress from drought, soil compaction, storm damage, and pests such as borers. But our arborists are able to evaluate the tree(s) and decide if a sample should be taken and submitted for further analysis to determine if it is oak wilt or not. Testing is the only way to definitively determine if it is oak wilt or not.

We are very familiar with local procedures and permit requirements. If a permit is needed, we’ll handle all of that for you - no need to worry! If you already have one, great! We’ll review the conditions to ensure you’re covered.

We use all the materials we remove, in one way or another. We utilize wood chips, donating many of them to various programs and organizations for gardens & pathways, along with providing bedding for various farm animals, inexpensive ground cover for high traffic/muddy areas, creating berms for privacy, landscaping, weed prevention in gardens, etc. Logs we use primarily for firewood and custom sawmilling. Brush we don’t chip feeds our local group of deer over harsh winters, eventually to end up with our other yard waste and become dirt. Stump grindings and yard debris we cultivate into the black dirt we use to do restorations.

We sure do! In fact, a few services we only provide over the winter - such as oak trimming. We also utilize ice often for shoreline work. Even with all the snow we got in the winter of ‘22-23, we worked all year. We just had to make some adjustments, and move some snow, but it wasn't a problem - we’re prepared. Sometimes weather conditions may not be safe for us to work in, so we do have to occasionally reschedule or postpone, but we’ll be sure to keep you informed.

We encounter this often. Everything from bees & wasps to raccoons to flying squirrels to birds nests to injured owls. We use our best judgment and years of experience (and having worked with wildlife experts many times over) to decide if simply being safely relocated is sufficient for them or if they need to be transported to a reputable rehabilitation facility for further evaluation and care. We follow safe handling protocols, both for ourselves and the animals involved.

Item descriptionYou are the first line of defense for your trees. The best advice we can give is if you notice changes in a tree, even subtle ones, we highly recommend taking photos and making brief notes as to the date and changes you’ve noticed, as well as any events that you believe may have contributed - construction, storms, trimming, landscaping. Create a catalog of photos and brief information to form a timeline and help us get a better idea of what may be impacting your tree. Help us, help you, help your tree. If you weren’t able to gather this information, we can certainly still come out and assess your tree for you.

Item descriptionWe have two options, with varying availability. One option is our smaller truck which holds 10-15 cubic yards, we also have a larger chip truck that holds roughly 25-30 cubic yards. Due to the nature of the dump boxes and gates, we aren’t able to do, delivered, partial loads. We are sometimes able to accommodate smaller portions if we are leaving chips on site. Meaning, the wood chips you are getting are from the tree(s) we are chipping, for you. We occasionally are available for wood chip pickup as well - this does require an appointment and is based on staff availability.

You do not need to be home for either one. Some requests are very straightforward and the tree(s) are easily determined with a description from the home owner, others may need photos provided ahead of time and/or trees marked. Marking your trees with ribbon, tape or other means is by far the easiest way for us to perform accurate estimates, without someone present to point them out. We don't recommend painting in the event something changes, we'll always accompany service items with pictures for continuity. If you aren’t able to be on site when the work is done, that isn’t a problem at all. We don’t require payment at time of service with prearranged work.* We’ll finish the work, take our after photos, and send you an invoice afterwards. *exceptions to this may include situations such as a neighbor asks us to perform some unscheduled work, payment would then be due at time of service

You give us a call, text, email, Facebook message, fill out our contact form - whichever is most convenient for you, we gather some information and get your request for an estimate put in the computer. We’ll have someone either stop out or set up a time to meet with you, whichever you prefer. Being able to just stop by, versus setting up meetings, usually allows us to get an estimate done a bit faster. Once we do a site visit and take our photos, we’ll put together a detailed estimate that includes separate line items with photos (if applicable) and send it to you through our software via email. You’ll look over it thoroughly to make sure it is exactly what you’d like done. If you have any questions at all, you’d like some, but not all of the work listed done or something isn’t quite right - let us know. We’re happy to explain or make any adjustments. If it all looks good, you click ‘approve’ and we get a notification and it gets moved to our “to do” list and we’ll be in touch regarding scheduling. If you have a certain completion date in mind, deadline for construction, or any scheduling concerns please let us know prior to accepting an estimate. We do our best to accommodate and can often make it work, but knowing beforehand allows us to evaluate our current workload, be honest and upfront with you and make sure we’ll be able to fulfill your scheduling needs.

We have a wide variety of machines, to ensure we’re equipped to handle just about any job. We use our wheel machines with turf tires when working in yards, to minimize any lawn damage. The largest machine we generally have on a residential site, is a self driven lift that has a wide wheel base and wide tires with gentle tread. We do our absolute best to avoid creating ruts and unnecessary mud. If necessary, we also have mats we can use to help mitigate damage. Our machines won’t harm the driveway, and if your driveway is in the “drop zone” of the tree we’re working on we will do our best to rig it away from or, if absolutely necessary, land it controlled and gently on the surface. While we always try to ask beforehand, we do recommend noting the locations of any septic systems, wells, drain tile etc so we can be sure to take the appropriate precautions and care around them.

We do. We work with the University of Minnesota extension for our plant health care testing needs. We can collect and submit samples for you, then with those results formulate a plan for your trees.

Over the many years, we have developed many different ways to work safely and efficiently in difficult environments. Whether it's due to property lines, steep grade, dense vegetation, snowfall or existing landscaping - we can find a solution. Some solutions may be season or weather dependent i.e. ice on the lake, or requiring very dry ground so we don’t have mud, or us reaching out to a neighbor to provide access.

Of course! We’d love to provide a professional, complete service for you. We even offer full restoration that includes black dirt & grass seed or matching existing landscaping ie:rock or mulch beds.

We are familiar with local laws and are comfortable facilitating communication, finding an amicable solution. Our input is always to engage your neighbor and inform them what you wish to have done ahead of time. We find sharing with them that you have hired us lends credibility and trust that their trees will be approached following industry best practices.

We do. We offer delivery for loads of softwood, mixed and hardwood logs. We do have cut & split firewood, with limited availability.