Portland Oregon Tree Consulting

About Peter Torres

I was first certified (Massachusetts Certified Arborist) in 1979. In the early 1990s I relocated to Oregon and I recognized a need for managing the remnant forest in the Portland area. To accomplish that goal I attended Oregon State University Forest Science Department where I earned a Master of Forestry degree in 1997. My field was forest pathology, and I specialize in root disease of native conifers.

I believe it is essential to keep up-to-date in the consulting field with education, training and credentials. To that end I joined the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) and earned my Registered Consulting Arborist designation (RCA #372). When the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) developed the Board Registered Master Arborist certification, I qualified (ISA PN-0650B). The Pacific Northwest Chapter recently added the Certified Tree Risk Assessor program. I hold Certificate No. 320.

Tree Preservation

In 2004 Multnomah Tree Experts, Ltd. began to specialize in tree preservation and mitigation plans within the City of Portland. We did more than 100 Tree Preservation Plans in Portland that year, and over 130 in 2005. Whether a property has two subject trees or several hundred, we catalog them in a spreadsheet for analysis and work with the property owner to develop the most efficacious preservation plan. Reports are kept on file for 5years. We strive to keep abreast of any changes in Chapter 33.630 of the Portland Zoning Code as it relates to the urban forest, tree preservation and mitigation.

Beyond The Basics

Besides the basic skills involved with making a tree inventory, it is of paramount importance for a consultant to recognize potential conflicts between proposed construction and trees being preserved. We have years of experience with interpretation of blueprints and communicating with engineers, City planners and architects.

Our goal is to find a way for the property owners to build what they want while still retaining trees in a viable condition. We will not recommend the inappropriate retention of trees.

By our definition, tree preservation excludes the retention of trees that will be damaged to the extent that they become hazardous or defective after construction is complete and unsuspecting people inhabit the spaces around them.