Animas Valley Arborist, Inc.

03/30/2025

Spring is a great time to dress up your tree and shrub beds with new wood chip mulch! We have beautiful aged wood chip mulch, rich in organic microbes ready to deliver in the La Plata county area. We also will deliver down in Aztec, and Farmington area of NM. Call us for a delivery request or arrange to pick up mulch at our yard north of Durango.
970-422-8072

06/03/2024

As the owner of Animas Valley Arborist, Inc.y Arborist and J&J Landscaping LLC, every week we discuss safety to prevent accidents in our workplace, and to create a culture of safety in everything we do! This means changing our personal habits and incorporating new, safer habits in our daily lives. This weeks topic is a review but I want to share this with the public, family and friends for your awareness while driving in parking lots. Please excuse the long read, but here ya go!

Parking maneuvers, particularly a vehicle’s maneuver for entering and leaving a parking space, have varying rates of use and safety impacts. In this effort, crash data were collected for parking lots in the vicinity of a university campus and compared to observational parking position data. The campus was selected for this study because a change in the parking enforcement process was expected to (and did) change parking maneuver choices. When entering and leaving a parking space, three maneuver options exist for drivers: (1) forward, (2) reverse, and (3) pulling through an adjacent parking space. When specifically entering a parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-in, (2) back-in, and (3) pull-through. When leaving the parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-out, (2) back-out, and (3) pull-through. This study found that the pull-in/back-out vehicle maneuver’s percentage of total crashes was greater than the percentage of vehicles that were actually observed to use the same maneuver. The analysis from this study implies that the pull-in/back-out parking maneuver is more likely to result in a collision and therefore, is associated with a higher crash risk. Further analysis of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injury crashes found that vehicles backing out of parking spaces was overwhelmingly the main cause for these serious injuries. 90% of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injuries occurred during a back-out maneuver. Overall, this study concludes that the back-in/pull-out parking maneuver is safer than the pull-in/back-out maneuver and is the recommended approach to 90° parking.

Parking maneuvers, particularly a vehicle’s maneuver for entering and leaving a parking space, have varying rates of use and safety impacts. In this e…

05/18/2024

We had the opportunity to reinvigorate an old orchard. The orchard was mainly Apples trees with a few Pear trees. However, the trees were older and had extensive heartwood dieback.
We pruned the old trees and gave them new structure and dignity. Then we planted 19 new fruit trees (4 different apples varieties, 2 pear varieties, cherries, and plums). The new trees will grow in as the older trees reach the end of their lifespan but continue the cycle of life in this beautiful orchard.
In addition, we cleaned up an overgrown Amur Maple hedge, and a very overgrown Privet hedge. Always, fun and challenging to transform a property that has become overgrown and turn it into something beautiful while enhancing the life of the trees and plants!

04/30/2024

Spring time is for planting trees! Today we were planting these 22 feet Spruce trees! Since 1978 we at Animas Valley Arborist, Inc. have known how to plant these big trees and small trees too!!!

07/21/2020

07/21/2020

Spot the arborist!

03/21/2020

Yesterday we received an email from one our clients with a picture of their tree. The Austrian Pine had been grown in a nursery pot. The root system grew to the edge of the pot and then began circling around the pot creating a girdling root system. When the tree was purchased and planted in my clients yard, the root system was never fixed. When dealing with a girdling root system, the roots need to be pruned and/or pulled out so the roots no longer grow in a circular pattern. The roots need to grow out in radial lines away from the trunk of the tree. This assures that the roots will become anchoring roots and not constrict one another. This tree fell over because of these girdling roots.

We can do root pruning to remove the girdling roots, stand the tree upright and stake it. New roots will grow to anchor the tree in the ground within 1 - 2 years. The tree can then become a viable tree.

02/28/2020

Seeking Certified Arborist for Tree Pruning and Pesticide Applications.
Animas Valley Arborist is seeking applications for Tree Climbers and Pesticide Applicators.
Preferred applicants will have experience trimming trees according to The International Society of Arboriculture standards.
Applicants should have a working knowledge of tree climbing techniques and be skilled proper pruning and removal practices.
Arborist Certification with ISA is a plus.
Animas Valley Arborist is also seeking Pesticide Applicators to treat trees and shrubs for insect and disease problems.
Experience working with pesticides is preferred.
Colorado Department of Agriculture certification as a Qualified Applicator, or Qualified Supervisor is preferred but not needed.
Pay will be based on experience and certifications.
Send applications and

resumes to:
[email protected].
Interviews will be made by appointment.

Location/Region: Durango, CO (81301)

01/31/2019

To my freezing friends. Something to try while waiting for your buns to thaw?