What is a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified Arborist and Why Should You Care?
One of the most common questions homeowners ask is: “Is my tree safe?”
Tree risk assessment is a serious responsibility — one that should never be taken lightly or based on assumptions. That’s why Momentum Tree Experts has a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) arborist on staff—to provide objective, systematic, and ethical evaluations that give homeowners real clarity about their trees.
TRAQ isn’t just another certification — it’s an advanced qualification that teaches arborists how to assess tree risk methodically and with as little bias as possible.
As a Christian-owned business, we pursued this certification because we felt the weight of responsibility in giving clients the right answers. The magnitude of that question—“Is my tree safe?”—was not something we could take lightly. Pursuing TRAQ was the next step in ensuring that every risk assessment we provide is backed by science, knowledge, integrity, and truth.
How TRAQ Gives Clients More Accurate Risk Assessments
Many tree professionals rely on gut instinct or general assumptions when evaluating tree risk. TRAQ takes a different approach:
- A systematic, step-by-step process that removes emotion from the equation and focuses on facts.
- Identifying key concerns vs. non-issues – TRAQ provides clear guidelines for assessing decay, cavities, and structural weaknesses so trees aren’t removed unnecessarily.
- Understanding how trees respond to decay – Not all defects make a tree dangerous. TRAQ helps determine which structural changes actually compromise stability and which don’t.
- Acknowledging that all trees pose some level of risk – No tree is 100% safe, but with TRAQ, we can quantify risk in a numerical value, allowing for better, fact-based conversations with clients.
Expanding beyond generic knowledge – Many arborists operate with the same risk knowledge they had early in their careers. Without continued education, their understanding remains too simplistic. TRAQ ensures risk assessments are based on the latest industry knowledge.
How TRAQ Helps Homeowners Make the Right Decision About Tree Service
While TRAQ is an invaluable tool, it’s important to recognize that like many things in life, technology for example, it can be used for good and for bad, depending on the intent of the person/s wielding it. Our commitment to integrity and desire to love people with a true belief in our accountability to God for our choices guides our use of our TRAQ credential towards providing information, not persuasion. We also have made sure not to gear our organization's equipment towards only being efficient at tree removal, otherwise you will regularly feel the pressure of leaning towards work that favors your companies abilities and profitability. We are geared towards handling pruning with exceedingly high efficiency and remarkable attention to detail as well as tackling technical and massive removals, so we are going to give you the information we believe is objective and of value, and step back and allow you to consider your options.
At Momentum Tree Experts, we use TRAQ for what it was meant for—objective, ethical risk assessment that puts decision-making power back in the hands of the homeowner.
- We don’t use fear tactics – Unfortunately a large tree growing near that home can cause fear, legitimate or perceived, and fear is powerful and can often be reinforced by professionals with the wrong motive and/or a lack of knowledge to make a good assessment and offer alternatives, making homeowners feel like they have no choice but to remove a tree. We walk you through the facts systematically so you know exactly what your risk level is.
- We don’t assume removal is the only option – Removing a tree is always a last resort. We explore all risk reduction and mitigation strategies first so you can make an informed decision.
- We don’t pressure you – Our role is to provide clarity, not push a sale. We believe in giving you the knowledge you need to make the right decision for your home—without unnecessary influence.
- We regularly tell clients to do nothing – There have been many cases where other companies claimed a tree was an immediate hazard, yet our assessment showed no real cause for concern. Our expertise allows homeowners to avoid unnecessary removals and preserve trees that are structurally sound.
What should you take away from this?
Ultimately, we hope that you will consider the ramifications of having the wrong individual assess and prescribe your tree care solutions so that you do not spend hard-earned money on services that truly do not serve you and/or the community and environment well. We certainly understand tree removal is necessary at times, but we want to be a part of the bigger picture in managing urban forests with professional expertise that benefits generations to come! Make sure you have a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) Arborist assess your trees today so that you can make the best choice supported by the facts.
Contact Momentum Tree Experts today to schedule a professional tree risk assessment and gain insight about your trees supported by facts so that you can make the decision that best suits your needs, desires, and budget and hopefully continue to support our awesome urban forests as well!
