John Hosbach Jr. is a self-professed tree hugger who’s been known to testify in court about tree difficulties, writes Katie Park for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
This part-time Radnor arborist and president of the Ridley Park urban forestry company Rockwell Associates, travels from Pennsylvania’s marshy lowlands to the dry terrain of Montana.
His expertise carries legal gravitas when people are hurt or killed by felled trees.
“We try to have a good balance between managing the trees and condemning them,” said Hosbach,
Trees can be ripe for lawsuits.
Eight years ago, a 45-foot tree branch snapped on the Radnor Trail and hit a Devon resident as he sat on a bench. He died in the accident.
Two months ago, an 83-year-old beech tree fell on the empty concession stand at Encke Park, next to the Radnor Township building.
Radnor officials struggle to check the health of the town’s trees. Radnor has to many trees, it needs to allot $2 million for the job.
Responsibility has fallen to Hosbach, who checks trees for decay, dead branches, trunk cracks, missing bark and swollen roots.
“My conclusions are not always welcomed,” he said.
Read more about John Hosbach here.
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