OSHA inches toward a tree care standard

Two storylines worth your coffee this week. A federal advisory committee told OSHA to write a tree care standard, and a fresh ANSI Z133 dropped. Meanwhile the drought map keeps spreading and Massachusetts lawmakers quietly buried arborist licensing one more time.

Rules and permits

OSHA gets a unanimous nudge toward a tree care standard

OSHA's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health voted unanimously to recommend that the agency develop a dedicated Tree Care Operations standard under the general industry rules, according to the Tree Care Industry Association. Committee members said tree work carries risks that existing OSHA regulations don't cover, and they pointed to ANSI Z133 and various state tree care rules as the template.

A recommendation is not a rule. OSHA leadership still has to act, and federal rulemaking moves at the speed of cold sap. But the signal is real, with industry, labor, and government all on the same page that tree care needs its own standard instead of getting jammed into construction and general industry rules that were never written for a climber 80 feet up. The vote landed alongside the release of the updated ANSI Z133-2026, which is still the benchmark OSHA cites when it writes you up under the general duty clause. If you run crews, read the new Z133 now. It's what an inspector will measure you against until a federal rule exists, which could be years out.

Massachusetts strips arborist licensing from its environmental bill again

The Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee released a slimmed-down version of the state's environmental borrowing bill, cutting it from the Senate's $3.94 billion down to about $3.078 billion. In the process the committee deleted the Senate's policy riders, including the provisions on public shade tree laws and arborist licensing changes, reports the Commonwealth Beacon.

That leaves no vehicle moving those licensing reforms forward. If you were hoping Massachusetts would tighten up who gets to call themselves an arborist, this round is dead. The House wanted bare capital authorizations and nothing that smelled like a policy fight.

Riverside, Illinois now wants a permit for nearly every removal

The Village of Riverside, Illinois requires a Tree Removal Permit as of June 8 for taking down any tree 2 inches in diameter or larger, per the village announcement. The permit is free, but you have to submit a site plan showing the tree's location, the contract listing tree size, and you must be a contractor registered with the village. Anything under 2 inches is exempt.

Two inches is a thin trunk. This catches a lot of routine work. The village says the point is to confirm contractors are registered and insured and to verify the trees are on private property. If you work that area, get registered before you bid the next job, because an unregistered contractor can't pull the permit.

The trees are not having a good summer

Drought is stressing canopy across half the country

As of June 9, drought covered 46.93% of the US and Puerto Rico and 56.16% of the Lower 48, with severe drought expanding through the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Minnesota, according to Drought.gov. Dry soil means stressed canopy, faster decline, and trees that come apart in the next windstorm. Expect more deadwood calls and more failures on trees that looked fine in spring.

New Mexico tree deaths reportedly tripled in 2025

A KTSM report carried by AOL says tree deaths in New Mexico tripled in 2025 during the state's second-warmest year on record. The piece ties the jump to heat and drought stress. If you work the Southwest, you already know what dead means in a yard full of pinyon and juniper. The numbers now match what crews have been seeing.

Spotted lanternfly quarantine holds in New Jersey

New Jersey reported new spotted lanternfly detections and kept its quarantine in place while survey and outreach continue, per APHIS. SLF feeds on a long list of woody hosts, with maples taking the hit in landscape settings. If you're moving wood, equipment, or nursery stock out of a quarantine zone, the inspection rules still apply. Check your loads.

Business and the calendar

Senske buys Turfco in Eastern Idaho

Senske Family of Companies acquired Turfco, an Idaho Falls outfit doing lawn care, tree care, and pest control across Eastern Idaho, announced June 18 via a release on the National Law Review. Turfco folds into the Senske Services brand. The release names a VP of Mergers and Acquisitions and invites M&A inquiries, so Senske is clearly still shopping. The consolidation in this trade isn't slowing down.

Davey hands out a stack of TCIA safety awards

The Davey Tree Expert Company said ten employees and one internal program picked up TCIA safety awards and certifications, posted June 17 on the Davey newsroom. Davey's STAR program won the Outstanding Company Contribution to Safety Award. Several field crew members got Outstanding Crew Contribution awards for staying on duty through a New Year's Eve storm to clear a tree contacting energized lines and restore power with PG&E. Others earned individual recognitions and a Good Samaritan Certification for emergency first aid and fire response. The storm work near energized conductors is the part to notice. That's the job most likely to kill you.

Worth the training dollars: EHAP and the conference season

TCIA is still pushing its Electrical Hazards Awareness Program online, including a Spanish-language version aimed at line-clearance and tree care workers near energized conductors. The course runs $126.50 for members and $206.99 for non-members and carries 7.5 ISA CEUs and 7.5 CTSP CEUs, per TCIA. Given that electrical contact is one of the top ways arborists die, that's cheap.

If you want in-person training, the Wisconsin DNR flagged the ISA Annual International Conference for August 10-12 in Detroit. And TCIA is promoting TCI EXPO '26 in Fort Lauderdale, the biggest trade show in the trade for gear, equipment, and software.

A pig roast with your wood decay biology

The Wisconsin Arborist Association runs its 2026 Summer Conference and Pig Roast on July 14 in Ashwaubenon, with two education tracks covering wood decay biology and ID, urban canopy effects, electrical hazards, oak injections, and climbing ergonomics, plus outdoor demos on tool sharpening, also per the Wisconsin DNR. CEUs and barbecue in the same afternoon. That's a fair trade.

Stay sharp out there and keep your distance from the wires.

The TreeNerd team