Trees Expert Witnesses: 5

John Booth, the Principal Consultant and Practice Director of Sylvanus Arboricultural Consultants Ltd., is a Chartered Aboricuturalist and Chartered Environmentalist and one of the UK’s most widely qualified Arboricultural Consultants. He has over 25 years experience in both the private and public sectors and has written numerous articles and papers for respected publications including the International Journal of Urban Forestry for which he is also a referee.

Mr. Booth and Sylvanus Ltd. are regularly instructed by both developers and Local Planning Authorities (LPA’s) who are keen to ensure a satisfactory outcome from the planning process, (i.e. an appropriate balance between tree retention and realizing a site's development potential). All such work is carried out in accordance with the guiding principles of British Standard 5837 ‘Trees in Relation to Construction – Recommendations.’ 

Mr. Booth is a Bond Solon/Cardiff University trained Expert Witness and a member of the Expert Witness Institute. He has many years of experience in both courtroom and planning enquiries. Services Include:

• Tree Inspection & Survey - Single Tree, Large Population, Mortgage Lending, Safety and Subsidence Issues
• Tree Preservation Orders (TPO's) and Conservation Areas - Detailed Specifications for Tree Work Applications for Trees with Statutory Protection
• Trees and Development - Tree Surveys for Submission with Planning Applications, Tree Constraints Plans (TCP’s), Tree Protection Plans (TPP’s), Arboricultural Impact Assessments (AIA), Arboricultural Method Statements (AMS)

Mr. Bornsworth is the owner and principal of Peninsula Environmental Group, Inc., an interdisciplinary consulting firm and general contractor assisting public and private sectors across the United States. John is an experienced urban & community forester, Board Certified Master Arborist, Registered Consulting Arborist, and ecologist with twenty years of diverse natural resource experience. John is a current chair member and former vice-chairperson of the Washington State Department of Natural Resource’s Washington Community Forestry Council, representing commercial arboriculture.

John specializes in tree and vegetation expert consulting and urban forest planning. John is an experienced tree forensics expert, tree and vegetation expert witness, and tree and landscape appraiser. John's planning and policy experience includes urban forest and natural resource management, planning, policy review and strategy, and Washington state critical area codes

Litigation Support 

• Experienced as expert witness for both plaintiff and defendant.
• Routinely provide expert opinion and testimony on arboricultural, horticulture and vegetation management to areas of legal practice that include land use, real estate, trespass, negligence, and personal injury. 
• Retained as expert witness on over eighty projects and have provided testimony on sixteen of those cases
• As of Jan 13, 2021, there are 14 ASCA Registered Consulting Arborists and 30 ISA Board Certified Master Arborists in Washington out of 417 ISA Certified Arborists. Only 7 individuals hold both the RCA and BCMA credentials together. Nationwide roughly 300 professionals hold both credentials

Credentials 

• ISA Board Certified Master Arborist # PN-7955BM (2018)
• Registered Consulting Arborist #724 (2019)
• ISA Certified Municipal Specialist (2015)
• Tree Risk Assessment Qualified since (2014)
• Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead

https://peninsulaenvironmental.com/staff/john-bornsworth/

View John Bornsworth's Consulting Profile.

• Storm hardening electric transmission and distribution systems to quantitatively manage tree-caused service interruptions
• Advise and develop protocols for assessments of power line tree exposure and mitigation
• Advise on least cost vegetation management by synchronizing economics and ecology
• Advise on impacts of vegetation management program alternatives, modifications
• Provide context for vegetation management, greenhouse gas mitigation measures in a competitive energy market
• Facilitate for management, staff, contractors and stake holders an actionable understanding of ecological principles and their impacts on vegetation management needs and costs
• Provide project management; expert review of programs and proposals
• Develop and advise on quantification, monitoring and verification of biotic greenhouse gas mitigation measures

David D. Hunter is a Registered Consulting Arborist with ASCA, USFS Trained Tree Risk Assessor, ISA Certified Arborist. ISA Tree Risk Assessor Qualified, SAF Certified Urban and Community Forester, Professional Plan Appraiser and Professional Forester. Providing both Expert Witness and Consulting Services. David D. Hunter has been called upon to testify in court and has helped his clients reach resolution prior to trial. His services include Expert Witness in Arboriculture and Forestry, professional plant appraisals of landscapes, trees and timber trespass, Tree Forensics as to why a tree or tree part failed causing injury or death, tree health and hazard/ risk assessments, and insurance claims relating to damage to tree, or people/property damaged by trees. David D. Hunter has over 40 years of experience from working in forestry, wildland fire and the field of arboriculture. David D. Hunter has been a consultant and expert witness in these fields for over 25 years. David D. Hunter services the western United States but is available nationwide.

Areas of Expertise:

• Arboricultural and Timber Trespass Issues
• Tree Forensics
• Tree Inventories
• Tree Surveys and Tree Protection Plans
• Tree Preservation Plans and Construction Sequences
• Hazard Tree Evaluations and Reports
• Appraisal of Loss Reports regarding Landscape Value Loss
• Arborist Reports

Training & Certifications:

• Certified as an Arborist PN-1068A, by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) - 1997-Present
• Graduate American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA), Arboriculture Consulting Academy
• Tree Failure Training Conference, Certified as Evaluator Portland, OR
• Registered Consulting Arborist membership in ASCA, RCA #408 (2003)
• US Forest Service Hazard Tree Risk Assessor Trained since 1978
• Certified Tree Risk Assessor (CTRA) by PNW ISA # PN-0150 (2006) ISA Tree Risk Assessor Qualified 

View David Hunter's Consulting Profile.

Matthew T. Latham is a Board-Certified Master Arborist (BCMA #TX-3737B) and Registered Consulting Arborist (RCA #859) with over two decades of experience. He specializes in providing detailed arborist reports, tree risk assessments, and appraisals for legal cases, property disputes, and insurance claims.

From diagnosing tree health to creating tree protection ordinances, he delivers practical, evidence-based solutions tailored to homeowners, municipalities, and legal professionals.