About

Joran Viers is a life-long student of nature and the natural sciences.  Having grown up in various remote locales where plants and animals were always present, he developed a great appreciation for the diversity of life on this planet.  Viers considers himself a servant of, and steward to, the planet, and he approaches his work through the broad lenses of Ecology – the rigorous study of how living beings actually interact with the real environment around them.  This approach, bolstered with considerable detailed biological knowledge, allows Joran to provide his clients with thoughtful, broadly considered advice aimed at improving plant health through improving site health.  Though he maintains a commercial pesticide applicators license, Viers is very reluctant to recommend or use synthetic and harsh chemicals, knowing that the damage can easily go beyond the target.  Instead, he follows Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices and processes – which lead to better control with less unintended (and unwanted) environmental damage.

Viers is trained in the biological sciences, with a Bachelors degree in biology from the University of New Mexico (summa cum laude) and a Masters degree in Botany from the University of Florida.  Following his university studies, Joran worked in public service for many years.  Initially he worked for the State of New Mexico as the Executive Director of the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, followed by a decade with New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service, where he was the County Horticulture Agent (and eventually County Program Director) until he took the position of City Forester with City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department.  After a number of years with the city, during which time he built up a side business doing arboricultural (tree-related) and horticultural consulting, Viers left the city to enter private practice full time.  He is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Board Certified Master Arborist, and holds ISA’s Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.  Viers is a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists, and maintains a NMDA Commercial Pesticide Applicator’s license.

Joran is recognized throughout the local area and across New Mexico for his technical expertise and ability to diagnose complex horticultural situations, his ability to communicate to a wide variety of audiences at their techincal comfort level, and his excellent educational abilities.  As a resident of Albuquerque, he focuses much of his residential consultation work in the wider Albuquerque metropolitan area.  In the broader state and regional areas, he is available for larger projects such as tree inventories, risk assessment, pre-planning consultations, renovation work tree protection applications, educational seminars and more.

Having worked in the public sector, Viers understands the particular constraints and flows of public sector work.  He is eager to help local government bodies with tree care training and advice, as well as providing CEU classes for NMDA-licensed pesticide applicators.  Joran is comfortable speaking before large audiences, to politial bodies, with land managers and with the boots-on-the-ground folks.

When not working, Joran can often be found in his own garden and will most likely be barefoot.  He also enjoys river running, camping, playing music with friends and hanging out with his kids and cats.