228 Dozier and Machtmes: Arborists in Louisiana ARBORISTS IN LOUISIANA, U.S.: A BASELINE ASSESSMENT OF SAFETY AND PROFESSIONALISM By Hallie Dozier1 and Krisanna Machtmes2 Abstract. In the mostly self-regulated arboricultural industry, Louisiana, U.S., is one of a few places where arborists must possess a license to operate. Since 1993, state-licensed arborists in Louisiana have been required to attend at least one continuing education workshop each year to maintain their licenses. In 2002, the State of Louisiana assumed responsibility for providing arborist continuing education, and program planners identified increasing safety and professionalism among licensed arborists as the two primary goals for the training program. The authors collected written questionnaires from 386 licensed arborists who provided baseline data on their levels of safety and professional- ism and demographic information. Analysis suggested that safety and professionalism are not separate variables among respon- dents, but examination of categories of questions describing different aspects of safety and professionalism is revealing. Arborists self-reported good ethical practices in dealing with customers and a perception of being safe on the job, but they did not appear to be wholly familiar with current industry standards for safety and tree care. Respondents were less inclined to engage in recommended safety practices or to promote modern cultural practices to their clients. Unfamiliarity with current industry standards may be due to low participation in professional arboricultural societies among Louisiana licensed arborists and a tendency to attend the only the minimally required number of state-mandated educational events each year. Key Words. Arboriculture; arborist; ISA; Louisiana; profes- sional development; professional education; professional membership; professional training; program assessment; safety education; safety training; survey; TCIA. arboriculture, such as the United Kingdom’s Approved Codes of Practice (McDermott 2005), and laws exists that address commercial use of chain saws, including work in and on trees (HSE 1999; EAC 2003a; Cottam 2005; Kolarík 2005). Other countries have few or no legal requirements (Kolarík 2005; O’Regan 2005). Despite widespread adoption of safety standards and advances in safety training since the early 1900s, current research confirms that tree care is a dangerous occupation and there continues to be a need for emphasis on safety training in this industry: almost 600 tree workers were killed on the job in the United States during the ten years from 1991 to 2000 (Ball and Vosberg 2003). In addition to safety issues in this primarily self- Tree care, especially work involving pruning, climbing, and tree removal, has always been a dangerous occupation. Early arboriculture leaders focused more on perfecting pruning, pest management, and cavity work than safety, though interest in safety and safety training had grown by the 1930s (Blair 2001). Safe work practices and safety training have made steady gains since then, and in the early 1970s, U.S. national standards (American National Stan- dard, Z133.1) were developed and approved (Blair 2001). A search of the Internet revealed that most states in the United States have no minimum requirements for an arborist to practice, while others require only insurance to operate (Hawkins 2005), though there are some exceptions, includ- ing Louisiana, Maryland, and Virginia (Hull and Scott 2001; Murray 2002). Some European countries have extensive guidelines regulating various activities common to ©2005 International Society of Arboriculture regulated industry, arborists in the United States also suffer from a poor reputation among their clientele (Ball 1994). Arborists have not been the topic of much academic research, and there is little research-based information available about professionalism or ethical behavior among arborists. Nevertheless, industry leaders, including profes- sional societies, heavily promote improving the professional image of arboriculture, advancing the profession, and raising the ethical bar among workers in tree care (Mills 2002; EAC 2003b; ISA 2004). Trade journals that target the tree care industry commonly urge arborists to improve themselves and the industry by making safety and profes- sionalism top priorities on the job. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certification program aims to promote and provide for more professional growth for arborists and to raise standards of the profession of arboriculture, and advertisements for the certification program refer to access to “research on new techniques” and “professional identity” as perks of membership (ISA 2004). Promotion of better arboriculture is also driven from outside the industry by groups such as Tree Amnesty, a grassroots citizen group in Seattle, Washington. Over the last several years, Tree Amnesty led a local campaign against topping that has succeeded in dramatically reducing the number of arborists who advertise topping as a service they provide (Turnbull 2004). Arboriculture in Louisiana historically has not been strongly regulated (Roussel 2003), and unscrupulous practices remain common enough that there seems to be a general distrust of arborists by tree owners. Since the 1930s, Louisiana lawmakers have attempted to regulate the lawn care business, including care of trees and shrubs, and over
September 2005
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