Clearing trees to restore animal habitats in Nevada

While much of a tree service professional's time is spent enhancing tree health and maintaining beauty in the landscape, sometimes removing trees becomes part of the job.  Such is the case with the project in the Spruce Mountain area of Elko, County, Nevada.  First Choice Tree Service  of Las Vegas is working in partnership with The Nevada Department of Wildlife to remove Pinyon and Juniper trees to improve the habitat of the native fauna in the area.

The major goal is to remove the trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of less than 12 inches.  Removing these will improve deer winter range and sage-grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat.

"These trees are growing near or right in the sagebrush and mountain brush vegetation, causing less than optimum conditions," says Tony Valenti, First Choice Tree Service owner.  "It is vital that we remove these trees to re-establish sagebrush habitat for these animals."

First Choice Tree Service will work through the fall season and into early winter, then resume in the spring of 2014 after the snow melts.

Can the ball of a Canary Palm fall to the ground?

Author: Eddie Rodriguez, ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST #WC-3916 

Over a two-year period, I worked extensive with Canary Palms with the City of Beverly Hills.  It all started when a resident called in one day and said that somebody had thrown a bomb in her front yard and blew up her Canary Palm. She said that it sounded like thump, thump thump, thump thump thump thump! Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ground shook.

I arrived at the house and found a small piece of the ball or pineapple had fallen from the Canary Palm. I was charged with the task to figure out a solution to the problem, as it was not only dangerous but was costing the city a lot of money in claims.   On the average, one Canary Palm ball was dropping each day. 

When we look at Canaries, we notice the one thing that distinctly makes them unique to other palms – and that is their ball or the pineapple. What started happening was these balls were starting to fall.  Now, imagine a ball 80-100 feet up - much higher than the ones here in Las Vegas, falling to the ground – sometimes piece-by-piece, then eventually, the whole thing.

It makes sense that they have the potential to do this, because where the boot of the canary is attached to the palm at the petiole, the structure is very thin. To give you an idea on how large the boot is on some of these palms, it’s about the size of a size of a man shoe (size 12) and weighs 5-8 pounds each! Now imagine how many of these boots make up one ball.  The point of attachment is approximately 1 ½ inches.  Besides the weak structure of the Canary Palm ball, there are a number of other reasons that make them susceptible to falling to the ground.

  

Wind is always a problem for anything that is high.   Rain causes the boots to swell up and become heavy.  Pests bore into the petioles and weaken the boots even more, and then there is also deterioration from age.

But, the biggest problem was the tremendous pressure and weight pushing down on the pineapple with all the other forces that I just mentioned.   To fix this problem, we need to relieve some of the forces causing the pineapple to fail. By reducing the weight, the height, and the width of the pineapple we can tremendously reduce the chances of failure. Please also note that shaping of the pineapple should be done by a professional experienced in crown-shaping and reconstruction. I do not recommend homeowners to this work on their own even if they think that it looks easy. In Southern Nevada, call us at First Choice Tree Service.

Tree Salvage Kicks Off New York-Style Las Vegas Strip Park

 

MGM Resorts International broke ground on an open-air entertainment promenade and New York-style park linking two of its Las Vegas Strip properties: New York-New York and Monte Carlo.  Integral to the project’s commencement was the removal of existing trees.  First Choice Tree Service was asked to remove approximately 200 trees, including Pines, Oaks, Texas Mountain Laurels, Crape Myrtles, Lace Bark Elms and Japanese Blueberry trees.   Each specimen was carefully removed and placed into boxes ranging from 24” to 120”.

“Most of these trees are expected to go back into the park,” says Gene Cimorelli. Executive Vice President and General Manager of First Choice Tree Service. “We’ve created a salvage yard at a neighboring resort property where they will receive the care and maintenance that they need.”

Removal of these trees requires the expertise of a professional tree crew, a certified arborist and the proper equipment. 

Spread across 63 acres, the project will create park-like retail and dining spaces between the resorts for greater pedestrian interaction and interstitial visitor synergy. The neighboring hotel-casinos will be connected by a tree-dotted plaza lined with benches, food trucks and shops.

First Choice Tree Service owner Tony Valenti.

“Everyone appreciates the natural beauty that trees bring to the city,” says Cimorelli.  “Our job is to make sure that these specimens survive until they are transplanted into their new destination at the park.”

How Tree Professionals Work Safely During Summer Heat Conditions

While the Las Vegas summer heat may bring risk to outdoor tree professionals, First Choice Tree Service has been providing safety training for its crew members to be prepared for heat exhaustion.  Owner of First Choice Tree Service is a Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP) who empowers and encourages a culture of safety within his organization.

Tony Valenti, who has owned First Choice Tree Service for over 20 years, is one of a handful certified in tree safety professionals in Nevada.  “We all know that working in the desert heat is taxing to the body,” says Valenti.  “But, tree climbers are in greater danger because they are usually working high up in the trees.”

Heat exhaustion can occur in a very short period of time and can cause dehydration, dizziness and blackouts.  “Our crew is trained to handle the situation safely in the small chance that one of our crew members have incurred a work-related injury or have succumb to fainting while they are up high up in the tree,” say Valenti.  The crew works with the resident “mascot” named Woody, a 150-lb  dummy constructed out of tree stumps and branches.  His sheer weight is a clear reminder of how important it is to be prepared and practice tree safety at all times.

Maintaining a Certified Treecare Safety Professional like Valenti on staff means that First Choice Tree Service is committed to safe practices in arboricultural operations.  He implements the latest technological advances and regulatory activities affecting the industry through the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) safety network, and must commit to ongoing education in the safety field in order to maintain their certification.  
 
Because safety regulations and industry standards are continually evolving, the ongoing education requirement is vital to maintaining a legitimate safety program within a given company. Las Vegas residential and commercial customers can have greater peace of mind with the knowledge that hiring a tree care company with a CTSP on staff helps to ensure safe and professional arboricultural work on their property.

Teaching Las Vegas Kids about Trees and the Environment

One of the many things that First Choice Tree Service enjoys doing is giving back to the community.  Kids, especially, are truly close to our hearts.  Our future relies on them, and if we can educate them on the importance of our environment, we know we've done our part.   

This is just what we did at Discover Charter School in Las Vegas, NV.  We visited these bright elementary kids and shared with them about the wonder of trees and our local environment.  Through various activities and talks we sparked their interest and engaged them in discovering how very important it is to preserve our trees and nature.  A few weeks later we received this beautiful piece of art from these wonderful students.  The saying on it says it all... "Thanks for 'rooting' for us, First Choice Tree Service." 

That just said it all!  We are so proud to have made an impact on them that day!

Tips for Growing Olive Trees in Las Vegas

If you plan to use olive trees as part of your landscaping, you'll probably want a fruitless variety, such as Majestic Beauty, Swan Hill or Wilsonii. Once they reach maturity, olive trees are generally drought-tolerant. They are also quite water efficient - a weekly deep watering will suffice during the hot summers in Las Vegas. 

If  you're skilled at curing olives, having a fruit-bearing olive tree is a necessity.  However, in Las Vegas, most people are eager to eliminate the mess that the fruit makes on the ground below.   January through March is the critical time to spray for fruit elimination.

Tips for Growing Fruitless Olive Trees in Las Vegas

1. Plant in well-drained soil, in full sun, with the crown above grade.

2. Water regularly and deeply until established, then schedule watering as fit for a xeriscape (low-water use) plant.

3. Spray to eliminate fruit (fruitless trees may eventually start producing fruit) in January and February.

4. Prune annually during cooler weather to remove water sprouts and lightly thin. 

5. No other pruning is needed when planted 15-30 feet from buildings. 

6. Fertilize every autumn and early spring, and water deeply following fertilization.