Kobalt just recalled 87,000 tools, chainsaws included

The federal government just erased the piece of the Endangered Species Act that made habitat destruction count as "take." That's the biggest thing this week. There's also a chainsaw recall worth checking against your Lowe's receipts, and two brothers in Oklahoma who lived through a bucket-truck cable failure.

The big one

Around July 10 to 14, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce finalized a rule rescinding the definition of "harm" under Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (Hunton Andrews Kurth). For decades that definition stretched the ban on "take" to cover significant habitat modification, not only directly killing or injuring a listed animal. The rule pulls the definition out of 50 CFR 17.3 and 222.102 and puts nothing in its place. It takes effect 60 days after publication, so mid-September.

What that means on the ground: tearing out forest or riparian trees near listed species is much less likely to trigger federal liability on habitat grounds alone. Utilities clearing rights-of-way, municipalities, and landowners running large removals get more room.

My read is that this is a green light for clearing near habitat, at least until the courts weigh in, and the lawsuits are already lining up. Don't assume it clears you everywhere. State and local habitat rules still bite, and some bite hard. Ventura's ordinance runs $15,000 a tree. If you work protected ground, the federal umbrella just got smaller. The local ones did not.

The canopy

The national heat rule slides into 2027

The July 3 federal Regulatory Agenda pushed OSHA's Heat Injury and Illness Prevention standard back again (Field News). The agency now wants a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking by December 2026, which shoves any final rule into 2027. Until then, outdoor crews get enforced under the General Duty Clause and the heat emphasis program. The same agenda has a lockout/tagout update coming in November that would let firms use computerized lockout systems on chippers and other machinery, plus an August 19 hearing on walking-working surfaces.

Z133 is now a free download

The 2026 edition of ANSI Z133 is available at no cost through the ISA web store, in English and Spanish (Notch Equipment). You need a free MyISA account, no membership required. OSHA will likely reference Z133 in the tree care rule, so there's no reason your crew shouldn't have it on a phone.

EPA's dicamba rules still let it drift onto your trees

EPA's February 2026 dicamba rules bar spraying above 95°F and require a 240-foot unsprayed buffer around treated fields (KTTZ/NPR). But EPA dropped the old calendar cutoff that blocked dicamba after June. More hot-weather spraying means more vapor drift, and dicamba drift kills trees miles downwind. If you service orchards, windbreaks or urban trees near row-crop country, expect the calls.

Riverview buys again

Riverview Landscapes acquired Kevin Labadini Corporation, a commercial landscaping and snow business in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, reported July 13 (Business Wire). Riverview says it's their 26th acquisition. The consolidators keep buying.

Safety report

A bucket-truck cable snapped in Oklahoma

Brothers Isaac and Andrew Reyes of Ponca City, Oklahoma fell more than 40 feet on July 15 when a cable on their truck-mounted lift broke mid-trim (People). Surveillance video shows the bucket dropping and the boom folding. Isaac broke his femur and both ankles. Andrew fractured his jaw and nose. Both were hospitalized and are looking at six weeks off work. The job was under their business, Curb Appeal LLC. No OSHA action was reported in the initial coverage.

Greenworks recalls 87,000 Kobalt tools over battery fires

Greenworks and the CPSC recalled about 87,000 Kobalt 24V and 48V tools that charge over USB-C, including chainsaws, pruning saws, string trimmers, blowers, mowers and pressure washers (Oregonian). The hazard is fire when you charge the battery through the USB-C port while it's still installed in the tool. There are 23 reports of batteries overheating or catching fire and two property-damage cases, no injuries so far. The tools sold only at Lowe's between January and about May 2026. Greenworks is fixing them at no cost.

Pest and disease watch

Ohio calls the whole state lanternfly country

Cincinnati Parks says spotted lanternfly is now established in all 88 Ohio counties, with the entire state under quarantine (Cincinnati Parks). They're also telling people not to cut Tree of Heaven without herbicide first, since cutting it just brings back a wall of resprouts.

Wisconsin's oak wilt reminder

The Wisconsin DNR put out a July 14 notice telling property owners to watch oaks for oak wilt (TCH Daily News). It's an awareness alert, not a new outbreak, but the timing matters. Keep the saws off oaks through the high-risk summer months.

Species spotlight

Red fir (Abies magnifica) grows tall in the Cascades of southern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada, 130 to 200 feet, one of the tallest firs in North America and a big share of the Sierra forest. The wood is soft, light and straight-grained. It cuts clean and rigs light, which is easy on the gear but gives you little to work with when a piece hangs up. The tree wants deep, well-drained acidic mountain soil and full sun, hardy in zones 5 to 8, moderate growth. Prune in late winter. Watch for fir engraver beetles, root diseases and dwarf mistletoe.

One for the lunch break

A University of Vermont study found natural causes now kill more trees than harvesting across Northeastern forests (Waterbury Roundabout). Insect-driven mortality passed harvesting in four states. Weather caused 13% of tree deaths in the study period and disease another 9%. The chainsaw isn't the leading cause of death in those woods anymore. The bugs are.

Stay safe out there,

The TreeNerd crew

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