The recommendation: Highly recommended!!!! The reasons: In the backyard -- We had a 60' cottonwood with fungal rot that had grown right next to a fence. Directly on the other side (not 3 inches from the fence probably) was our neighbor's shed. About 8 feet (tops) to the left of that was another shed in our other neighbor's yard. Oh, and less than 3 feet in front of the tree, in our yard, was a power box with the back wall of an addition to our house 10 feet further away. Not much area to handle a huge split-trunk cottonwood. In the front yard -- we have a 40 foot tall northern catalpa that is nearing the end of its lifespan, but has survived lightning strikes. It needed severe pruning to help it keep going for as many more years as possible. I had my own fun garden statues under it and they were willing to move them. They cleared out the dead and dying stuff to let the tree concentrate it's energy on the healthy parts! All while dealing with us chatting with them (about trees, yards, and dogs). Whitney did the climbing, roping, cutting. He worked through cold, rain, wind. He didn't climb when it was too windy or when there was lightning -- safety! Keenan helped cut when branches were down, helped trim lower branches, chipped up branches, etc. In the end, no sheds, fences, power boxes, houses, or garden statuary were damaged, and they raked up the yard when they were done! read more