Alan

Title: Owner/Operator
Hometown: Windom, MN
Years of experience in the tree industry: 11
Favorite Tree: Honey Locust (Gleditsia tricanthos)
Least favorite part of job: Equipment maintenance 
Secret Skill: Ultra-endurance cyclist 
Favorite Quote: "Do not be concerned with things that are outside of your control"
Favorite place you have visited: Galapagos Islands
Hobbies: Biking, camping, traveling, woodworking, building, hunting, my dogs.
Tell us about yourself: I currently live in Lead with my fiancé and 2 dogs. We enjoy spending our time outdoors whether that be in our yard/garden or exploring the National Forest. I grew up in rural Minnesota doing the things that all midwestern boys did in the 90's; sports, hunting, fishing, and working on farms. Finished high school in 2006 and studied Exercise Science at St. Cloud State University before moving to the Black Hills in 2010 to finish my education at BHSU. I Started working in the forestry sector while going to school for Biology and Outdoor Education. Dendrology (trees) was the emphasis of my degree, and I was doing a lot of rock climbing at the time so tree climbing became the natural direction to take. As fate would have it, I graduated college 2 months after storm Atlas and created Tree Wise Men the next Spring out of necessity. Tree climbing and arboriculture has since become a passion. It has been a pleasure serving the Northern Hills communities for the past 8 years and I look forward to many more.