I'm Christopher Hodge, an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist and TRAQ qualified tree risk assessor based in Placerville, California. I grew up in El Dorado County, California, hiking its oak woodlands, exploring its mixed conifer forests, and learning to identify the fungi that live in and around its trees. That childhood curiosity turned into a career, and I've spent years deepening my knowledge of tree biology, wood decay, and arboricultural science.
Tree Nerd. Mushroom Obsessive.
Trees and fungi are inseparable, and I have spent fifteen years studying that relationship through fungal taxonomy. I identify mushrooms in the field, study specimens under a microscope, and stay current on mycological and arboricultural research. Over those years I have led mushroom forays for nonprofits and helped with fungal surveys that document the great biodiversity of fungi in our forests. That fieldwork is why I can name what is fruiting on a tree, and often what fruited there after the mushrooms are gone.
I have also worked as a consultant for a mycorrhizal inoculant company, on the mycorrhizal species that partner with tree roots and how they are put to work in the soil. It gave me a close look at the beneficial side of the fungal world, the partnerships that keep a tree fed and watered, which matters as much to tree health as the decay fungi do.
I'm particularly fascinated by the Sierra Nevada foothills that define El Dorado County: the Blue Oaks, Valley Oaks, Interior and Canyon Live Oaks, and Black Oaks that shape the landscape I grew up in. Understanding how these trees grow, age, fail, and support entire ecosystems is what drives my work every day.
Experience Beyond the Consulting Report
My work with trees has not been limited to writing reports. Three kinds of field work shaped how I assess a tree today:
- Post wildfire response: assessing trees after fire, judging which ones will recover and which have become a hazard to the roads, homes, and people around them. Living in the foothills, I have watched trees respond to fire over many years, and that history informs every fire damaged tree I look at.
- Utility vegetation management: working with trees near power lines, where the job is spotting the trees that could fail into a line and keeping the clearances that protect both the system and the trees.
- Tree preservation: protecting trees through construction and development, from setting tree protection zones to guiding work around roots and following a tree through the project. It is the same work behind my Oak Technical Reports and development arborist reports.
Each of those taught me to read a tree under pressure, from fire, from a power line, or from a bulldozer, and to make a call that holds up. That is what I bring to a homeowner's oak or a builder's site plan.
Credentials and Training
- ISA Board Certified Master Arborist WE-14385B
- TRAQ, ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification
- Qualified Applicator License, Landscape pest specialist
- TCIA Tree Care Specialist
- TCIA Plant Health Care Technician
- OSHA 30 Safety Training
- Verify ISA certification WE-14385BLook up my Board Certified Master Arborist credential directly in the ISA certificate directory.
Work With Me
Whether you need a formal tree risk assessment, a consulting arborist report, or an Oak Technical Report, I bring deep local knowledge and scientific rigor to every project. Call or text (530) 391-6100 or visit the Contact page to get started.
