From increased property value to improved air quality, the benefits of trees are abundant. But finding a suitable tree for specific climates and locations can be a challenging process. Without a deep knowledge of trees and environments, people mistakenly plant the wrong tree in the wrong place. As many tree care professionals know, the wrong species can cause major issues to residential homeowners, municipalities and utility companies.
Rogue Tree Solutions in Orrville, Ohio aims to educate the public on trees and the importance of tree maintenance to prevent future issues. The company is very active in The International Society of Arboriculture. This organization sets the precedence of professionalism and proper techniques that all reach for in the arboriculture industry.
“With our proficient knowledge of arboriculture, we’re driven to educate the public and our customers to make the right decisions when it comes to trees,” said Corey Parsons, co-owner of Rogue Tree Solutions. “But, we also know that sometimes trees fail and need to be removed. In those situations, we can apply our knowledge and skills to correctly and safely cut them down.”
As certified arborists, the team at Rogue Tree Solutions tackles some of the most challenging tree removal and pruning jobs in commercial, residential and municipal settings. The company emphasizes safety and professionalism while following the standards set by the International Society of Arboriculture to effectively conquer each job.
Maneuvering a Tough Jobsite
In March of 2017, the village of Fredericksburg was faced with a series of hurdles. The town’s sewer plant was becoming a target of falling Ash trees that were affected from the Emerald Ash Borer. The trees had slowly succumbed over the past decade from the EAB and had been failing more frequently.
Numerous trees had fallen over the years and crushed the security fence surrounding the village facility. Often these trees had narrowly missed banks of electrical transformers, electrical lines and other infrastructures critical to the plants operation. The village decided to take a proactive approach and push back the tree edge from the plant and re-establish a right-of-way. The village council voted unanimously that the work had to be done, and chose Rogue Tree Solutions for the job.
Surrounding the jobsite was thick, foot-deep mud. Due to the ground conditions, the team recognized that the job required rugged, maneuverable equipment, but the conditions prevented the Rogue team from utilizing a full-sized skid steer typically suited for heavy tree-handling tasks.
Instead, the team turned to their construction-grade Ditch Witch® SK1050 mini skid steers and a chipper to effectively maneuver around the jobsite and remove the damaged trees. In fact, the team of 10 cleared 108 trees in an unprecedented three days – a job that typically requires much larger teams and larger equipment. Rogue Tree Solutions finished the challenging job by applying an herbicide treatment to prevent the tree stumps from sprouting back, and have since been invited back for other maintenance work at the water treatment facility.
Versatile, Rugged Equipment
The tree removal job wasn’t the only time the Ditch Witch SK1050 supported the Rogue Tree Solutions crew. When looking for a machine to match their versatile and rugged jobsite needs, Rogue Tree Solutions tested several mini skid steer models, yet nothing compared to the Ditch Witch SK1050. “The Ditch Witch machine blew us away. Compared to other mini skid steer units, the SK1050 really is a bulldog. It’s faster and it’s tougher,” said Parsons.
“The clean-up job at the water treatment facility was really challenging due to the sticky mud. We need machines in our fleet that can maneuver through sometimes challenging ground conditions,” said Toni Adamrovich, co-owner of Rogue Tree Solutions. “When comparing the Ditch Witch machine to others, it has two joysticks so I can control my tracks separately. When you get into jobsites with a lot of mud, sometimes you need move the tracks back and forth at variable speeds to get through. It’s tough to do that with a single joystick. The tracks on the SK1050 are also superior when comparing machines side-by-side. They are wide and more rigid, but still leave a small footprint for residential work.”
Additionally, the SK1050 mini skid steer allows Rogue Tree Solutions to conquer the most difficult stump removal jobs. Many tree care providers do not offer stump removal because it’s so labor intensive and typically must be done manually. But, Parsons says, the Ditch Witch machine helps ease the work. The team at Rogue uses various bucket attachments to scoop the grindings, load them into a dump trailer and fill the hole with soil. They also have a fork and grapple attachment which helps relieve employees of the straining job of moving materials.
For more information on the SK1050 mini skid steer, please visit SK1050 | Ditch Witch – Directional Drills, Trenchers, Vacs, & Skid Steers
