Highly Trained. Actively Managed. Built for Your Program.
A contract utility forester (CUF) is only as valuable as the training behind them, the oversight supporting them, and the independence guiding their recommendations. At ACRT, all three are built into how we recruit, develop, and deploy every CUF we put in the field.
ACRT is the nation’s only fully independent, 100% employee-owned provider of contract utility foresters. Our CUFs are highly trained, field-ready professionals with no ties to tree care companies or construction contractors. This gives utilities an objective, accountable partner whose recommendations reflect your program’s actual needs, not the interests of an affiliated crew.
Backed by industry-leading onboarding, continuous training, active manager involvement, and a culture of retention that keeps experienced foresters on your program year after year, our teams deliver the consistency and quality that high-performing utility vegetation management (UVM) programs demand.
What Our Contract Utility Foresters Do
ACRT’s contract utility foresters provide the full range of field consulting services utilities need to plan, direct, and quality-control their vegetation management programs:
Pre-Inspection and Work Planning
Our CUFs patrol utility lines to identify, inspect, and evaluate trees and brush, document conditions, and submit actionable recommendations to your team. This proactive assessment work is the foundation of a well-run UVM program, and helps turn reactive maintenance into forward-looking risk management across your system.
Customer Notifications
Your customer relationships are an extension of your brand. ACRT’s foresters communicate professionally with property owners and community members on your behalf. They explain the work being done, address concerns, and represent your utility with the courtesy and clarity your customers expect.
Auditing
Independent auditing is how utilities know they’re getting what they’re paying for from tree care contractors. Our CUFs provide vegetation management and safety auditing services that ensure contractor accountability, validate work quality, and give you the documentation needed to demonstrate compliance and program performance.
Total Management
For utilities that need a complete, end-to-end UVM solution — particularly smaller cooperatives and municipal power companies — ACRT can develop and manage your entire vegetation management program. From work planning and contractor direction to customer communications and compliance reporting, we handle the full scope so your team can focus on running your utility.
Regulation and Compliance
Keeping pace with federal, state, and local vegetation management regulations is a full-time challenge. Our foresters stay current on applicable requirements, help you navigate the compliance process, and provide the documentation and reporting your organization needs to demonstrate regulatory diligence to oversight agencies and stakeholders.
Integrated Vegetation Management
Our contract utility foresters help utilities develop and implement strategies that reduce long-term maintenance costs, support native species, and build corridor resilience. Our independent approach to IVM combines selective vegetation control, targeted herbicide application where appropriate, and region-specific planning — balancing operational performance with environmental stewardship across your rights-of-way.
What Makes ACRT CUFs Different
Training and certification. Every ACRT contract utility forester completes comprehensive onboarding before working independently — covering field safety, utility line clearance standards, hazard recognition, and customer communication. We support ISA Certified Arborist and ISA Utility Specialist certifications with 100% exam reimbursement, and provide UAA membership for ongoing professional development.
Active manager involvement. Our operational model puts managers in the field alongside the teams they lead. That on-the-ground presence means performance issues get caught and corrected in real time, well before a quarterly review. It’s the structural difference between a high-quality contract utility forester program that runs consistently and one that drifts.
Retention that builds system knowledge. ACRT foresters stay. Our people-first, employee-owned culture and commitment to career development keep experienced professionals on your program — building the circuit-level familiarity and institutional knowledge that directly improves the quality and efficiency of your UVM program over time.
Accountability at every level. As 100% employee-owners, every ACRT forester has a direct stake in the reputation and performance of the company. That ownership mindset shows up in the field every day in the quality care our teams take with your customers, the accuracy of their documentation, and the consistency of their work across your system.