I’m now the proud recipient of Maryland Tree Expert License #2041. I took the exam a week or so ago. But it was the proverbial long strange trip to get here.
I became Supervisor of Urban and Community Forestry for MD DNR in 1997. One of the first things I wanted to do was find out how our clients (the regulated community) felt about our efforts. Working with my friend and colleague Peter Becker of Bartlett Tree Experts, we published A Survey of Licensed Tree Experts in Maryland in the Journal of Arboriculture (JOA 24(1): January 1998).
That survey told us we needed to totally redo the Maryland Licensed Tree Expert exam. So we at MD DNR rewrote the test with input and participation from members of the Maryland Arborist Association and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboiculture. We moved the exam from paper to the desktop so examines could get immediate feedback on results and not have to wait for hand grading. I participated in criminal enforcement of the Tree Expert law, and served as the Attorney General’s expert witness in administrative actions under the law. In 2008, I left public service (after 23 years) for the NGO world and went from there to the private sector in 2011. But there was a rub.
The enabling legislation does not recognize work as a public or NGO arborist – only work in the private sector. So when I came to SavATree I was apprenticed to Registered Consulting Arborist, Licensed Tree Expert, and SavATree Director of Plant Health Care Patrick Parker. When I had completed my apprenticeship, I was able to take the exam.
It was a great opportunity to come full circle and have the experience that I put examinees through, and to join the community of practice with my fellow MD LTEs! After writing the test and enforcing the provisions of the law for years, I finally get to have a license myself.
