Mountain Branch Tree Service

I contacted/hired Mtn Branch Tree Service (MBTS) as a (residential) Trees Service to remove the large trees hanging over my house. I wanted the marketable timber on the property to offset any costs for falling the dangerous house-hanging trees. I don't know for sure that he has a company as pictured in his web site. I only ever saw Jacob himself. No one else worked here on my property.

He is not a Tree Service, he is a Clear-Cut Logger, destroying everything in his path. He drops the entire forest one tree on top of the other. Then starts to put them to stage area. This means we now have little to nothing standing, what wasn't cut down was smashed down by the fallen timber. He used a skidder that carried the logs horizontally. That means 34 ft wide path was needed to go through the yard/woods to the staging area. Anything that survived the clear-cut did not survive after he ran this type skidder. He was not careful he ran in full speed. Even though he used this type skidder, he still ran his bulldozer across the land tearing up everything, twisting and turning without care. When he was done I could hardly recognize my land.

Mtn Branch Tree Service (MBTS) was to pick up my permit(s) for logging. MBTS neglected to pick up the one needed for burning slash piles, which got me into bad light with ODF. I hired him because I didn't know a thing about logging. I was informed by ODF ultimately it is the Land Owner who gets the fine. MBTS would not stop burning although he knew I was having phone calls from ODF. I demanded he stop burning which finally he did. He was paid for clean-up and because he could not burn as he went it seemed to me that he started destroying everything standing in his way, including all my trees that I wanted to keep including Fruit trees. I finally told him to forget the cleanup and that I'd do the rest.

I marked the trees I wanted to keep. It seemed that he destroyed whatever was in his way, he just did not care. I marked off my septic system and field and he put a second staging area there and kept running over the septic lines. When confronted he tried to say with the skidder doesn't put enough weight on the lines to hurt them. He dropped a tree and crunched my 10x10 shed and then while skidding the logs (actually carrying them) he hit the shed wiping the rest of it out. He also went outside the area which was marked to timber, grabbing another very large tree.

I had two plum trees close to the house. One that was fully mature and gave beautiful fruit. I told him if he hit that he'd not be forgiven. He laid it to the ground, again while he was skidding (carrying) the logs to the stage area. He also hit my Lp gas tank breaking the pressure fitting. The tank sat against my house. At the one stage area close to the house, I was able to save a 8" diameter Dogwood tree. Since it was the only thing in near sight he used it to stage the large logs against. The dogwood now leans as you might expect.

I pointed out where my electric service ran underground to the drive-entrance gate. The gate was put out of service (electric off) while all the activity was going on around it. When I put the gate back to use, it had no electric to it. I found where he clawed into the earth where the electric line ran to the gate slicing the wires. It almost looks like it was done on purpose as no trees were around this area.

One important thing to keep in mind; Only one person can be in charge of what happens. If you want to be the one making the decision of what ultimately happens on your property do not hire Mtn Branch. He'll argue to the end then do it his way and/or it seems destroy a bit extra in the mean time.

I would not get him to do it again. He is the type guy if it will take two seconds longer to avoid something like your septic system, he'll argue until you have to get angry and then he doesn't care what else happens to show you a thing or two. I don't want to argue and fight when I hire someone. To me nothing feels better when someone does a job and I remain friends afterwards with respect for one another.

He did not cut down the dead and the oak trees which had been verbally agreed upon before the job had started. Leaving me with the expense if I now want them removed.

This was a terrible experience. I trusted a guy that had only greed in mind. He saw only money in the trees, no beauty. By the time he left my land was unrecognizable and my wife was in tears.