Tree Wardens and Utility Arborists: A Management Team Working for Street Trees in Massachusetts

Public trees along streets and roads are often jointly managed by municipalities and electric companies. This research obtained information about community forestry programs and assessed the level of cooperation between the two management entities. The study queried electric utility staff arborists and municipal tree wardens, the arboricultural professionals in Massachusetts who are directly responsible for the planting, maintenance, and removal of street trees in urban and community forests. Results showed that the majority of communities still lack street tree inventories and management plans. Major advances in utility arboriculture have resulted in the need for trained and qualified arboricultural professionals to implement the new practices and techniques. Municipal arboriculture professionals give high ratings to the cooperation between communities and electric utilities when the private companies employ trained arborists on staff.