Horticulture Expert Witnesses

Professional portfolio includes individual tree and forest-wide health, disease, and risk assessments; natural asset valuation and tree appraisal; tree management around construction; forest health and analysis; urban forest policy and management; shoreline, stream, and wetland mitigation and restoration and permitting for both public and private clients. Have assessed tens of thousands of individual trees and numerous private and public forested sites up to 5,000 acres, while also supporting hundreds of projects involving shorelines, wetlands, steep slopes, habitat restoration, and environmental regulatory compliance. 

Frequent lecturer for homeowners, arborists, engineers, contractors, and environmental professionals on tree management, shoreline ecology, environmental restoration, and tree protection during development. Instructor for the Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification course (TPAQ). 

Litigation Support 

• Retained for litigation support in more than 100 projects and court-qualified as an expert witness 15 times. Retained as an expert witness in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Michigan. 
• Routinely provide expert opinion and testimony on arboriculture, tree risk, ecology, environmental mitigation & policy, duty- and standard-of-care interpretation, and chemical fate and causation in matters involving land use and permitting, real estate, trespass, personal injury, property damage, and negligence 
• Acquired designation of ISA Board Certified Master Arborist in 2018. Only 10 individuals within the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the ISA held a Board Certified Master Arborist credential at that time. 

Credentials 

• ISA Board Certified Master Arborist # PN-7955BM (2018)
• Registered Consulting Arborist #724 (2019)
• ISA Certified Urban & Community Forestry Professional (2015-2025)
• Tree Risk Assessment Qualified since (2014)
• Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead

View John Bornsworth's Consulting Profile.

John A. Harris, is Principal of Landscape Economics, LLC, President of Earth Advisors, Inc., and a LANDSCAPE ECONOMIST who has worked in the Arboriculture, Forestry, landscape, and horticultural fields for over 40 years. Mr. Harris has provided reputable consulting, education, and project management services for projects across the United States and internationally, in both temperate and tropical ecosystems.

Areas of Expertise include:

• Landscape and Tree Risk Assessments
  • Landscape, Tree, Urban Forest, Nursery Plant Value Appraisals
  • Landscape, Tree, Urban Forest, Nursery Plant Damage Appraisals
  • Damage Assessments, Claims, and Recovery Consulting
• Arboriculture Industry Standards and Standard Practices
• Landscape, Arboriculture, Forestry, Environmental Project Management
• Utility Line Clearance Industry Standards and Standard Practices, Electrocution
• Landscape Industry Standards and Standard Practices- Design, installation, maintenance
• Personal Injury and Wrongful Death involving tree or landscape issues
• Municipal Tree Inventory and Management Plans
• Duty of Care and Negligence in Tree and Landscape Maintenance
• Forestry and Forest Resources Management
• Grounds Maintenance Practices
• Arboriculture and Arborist Practices