24/7 storm & emergency response

Veteran Owned & Operated · Houma, Louisiana 985-688-4041

Master-Level Tree Care. A Mission That Goes Beyond Trees.

Veteran Tree Care delivers advanced arboricultural care for residential, commercial and institutional properties. We combine science-based tree preservation, risk assessment, pruning, plant health care, removal and emergency response with a mission built around giving veterans meaningful work and leadership opportunities.

Request a free estimate Schedule an arborist consultation
5.0 average from 87 Google reviews
U.S. Army Veteran badge Veterans Veteran Owned / Veteran Led

As Featured In

Preservation Before Removal

Not Every Tree Needs to Come Down.

Many tree companies make most of their money by removing trees. Veteran Tree Care starts with a professional assessment.

A mature tree that someone else has written off can often be preserved. Structural pruning, cabling and bracing, soil improvement, root-zone work, plant health care, risk mitigation and long-term monitoring can keep it safe and healthy for decades.

When a tree can’t be kept safely, we remove it professionally. Removal is one tool in arboriculture. It isn’t the whole business.

  1. Assess

    Structure, roots, soil, decay, targets and site history, evaluated by a qualified arborist.

  2. Preserve

    Soil improvement, root-zone work and plant health care for trees worth keeping.

  3. Mitigate

    Structural pruning, cabling and bracing, risk mitigation and long-term monitoring.

  4. Remove

    Only when necessary, carried out safely and professionally.

Removal when necessary. Preservation whenever possible.

Film · 0:30

Meet Ricky Folse

Sound on

The Veteran Mission

The Mission Continues.

When you hire Veteran Tree Care, you are not simply hiring a crew. You are helping put veterans to work.

100+ veterans hired

At Veteran Tree Care, “Veteran” is not a marketing word. The company intentionally employs veterans and works to create what many lose when they leave the service: structure, camaraderie, purpose, leadership opportunities and a path toward ownership.

The longer-term plan is a network of branches in which veterans take on a growing share of leadership and equity, starting with Alpha Company in the Florida Keys.

  • Ricky Folse

    Ricky Folse

    Founder · Arborist · Veteran advocate

    Hires & mentors veterans
  • Lori Williams

    Lori Williams

    U.S. Army · Captain · Afghanistan

    Owner / Director
  • Dustin Bergeron

    Dustin Bergeron

    U.S. Marine Corps · Three tours in Iraq

    Ground Operations Lead
  • Andrew Gomez

    Andrew Gomez

    U.S. Army · 10 years · Iraq

    Team Leader · Arborist
Continue your mission with us Our mission

Lori Williams

Owner / Director | U.S. Army Veteran

From West Point to Afghanistan to Veteran Tree Care, Lori Williams has spent her career leading with purpose.

  • USMAUnited States Military Academy at West Point graduate
  • 2004West Point Class of 2004
  • CPTFormer U.S. Army Captain
  • MIMilitary Intelligence background
  • Deployed to Afghanistan
  • Bronze Star recipient
  • RETMedically retired from the U.S. Army

Lori’s military leadership sits at the center of her story. At West Point and as an Army intelligence officer, and on deployment in Afghanistan, she built the discipline, planning and organizational skill that now help run Veteran Tree Care.

After the Army she became deeply involved in veteran advocacy as vice president of After the Mission, working alongside Ricky years before the current company existed. With graduate-level business education and broad management and entrepreneurial experience, she now helps lead Veteran Tree Care.

Read Lori’s full story

Ricky Folse

Founder | Arborist | Veteran Advocate

He knows how to remove dangerous trees, but his greatest passion is understanding when they can be saved.

Ricky wanted to serve in uniform. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, but a medical issue kept him from completing his service. Ricky himself makes the distinction clear: he doesn’t believe he earned the title of veteran. When that path ended early, his connection to service didn’t. Over time his mission became creating opportunities and direct support for the veterans who did serve.

His tree-care career grew after Hurricane Katrina, and for years he operated under the Tree-A-Nator name. As the work grew, his philosophy changed from cutting trees to understanding them: their biology, their risk, and how to preserve them. The turning point came when he was asked to remove an old tree he remembered from childhood. Instead of cutting it right away, he asked several arborists for their opinions. That tree led him into plant health care and preservation, especially Louisiana’s mature live oaks.

Arboricultural credentials

  • ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® (BCMA)International Society of Arboriculture
  • ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)International Society of Arboriculture
  • ISA Certified Arborist®International Society of Arboriculture
  • Louisiana Licensed ArboristLicensed since 2009
  • Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ)With Dr. Ed Gilman
  • TCIA Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP)Tree Care Industry Association
  • TCIA Plant Health Care Technician (PHCT)Tree Care Industry Association
  • Electrical Hazards Awareness Program (EHAP)Tree Care Industry Association
  • Class IV Electrical Line-ClearanceTraining / certification
  • Aerial Rescue TrainingClimber rescue
  • Tree & Plant AppraisalTraining / qualification
  • 17+ YearsProfessional arboricultural experience

Advanced experience with Level 1, 2 and 3 tree risk assessment, mature-tree preservation, historic live oaks, reduction and structural pruning, cabling and bracing, air-spade excavation, radial trenching, soil remediation, construction-impact mitigation, and the ANSI A300 and ANSI Z133 industry standards.

Read Ricky’s full story Verify credentials

The spreading canopy of a mature live oak in Houma, Louisiana

Live Oak Preservation

Preserving Louisiana’s Living History.

Centuries-old live oaks are part of Louisiana’s cultural and natural heritage. They’ve stood through hurricanes and generations of families. Keeping one healthy takes specialized knowledge, not just a crew with a saw.

If a tree is in stress, you don’t treat the tree. You treat the soil.
Dr. Malcolm Guidry, forensic arborist, on Loving Live Oaks

What a mature live oak requires

  1. Structure

    How heavy, spreading limbs are attached and loaded, and when reduction, cabling or bracing is warranted.

  2. Roots

    Root-collar inspection with an air spade, girdling-root correction and root-zone protection.

  3. Soil

    Compaction relief, radial trenching, soil biology and a restored forest-floor layer of arborist chips.

  4. Construction impact

    Protection zones and mitigation before trenching, grading or paving damages roots that take years to show symptoms.

  5. Disease

    Diagnosing the primary cause before treating secondary pests and decay.

  6. Storm stress

    Preparing mature trees for hurricane season and assessing them after lightning, wind and flooding.

  7. Pruning

    Species-appropriate cuts that protect the tree’s long-term structure, never topping.

Schedule a live oak consultation Live oak preservation Watch Loving Live Oaks

Veteran Advocacy History

Service Didn’t Start With the Company Name.

This isn’t charity for show. It’s the record showing that the mission existed long before the current branding.

  1. ATM

    After the Mission

    A Houma nonprofit Ricky helped create, with Lori as vice president. Its initiatives focused on homeless veterans, veterans dealing with PTSD and disabled first responders.

  2. 2021

    The long-distance bicycle campaign

    Roughly 2,400 miles from Louisiana to Key West and on to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness and bring direct help to homeless veterans and veterans with PTSD along the way.

  3. 2022

    Fundraising & combat sports

    Summer Salute, a veteran-focused combat-sports event in Houma, sent part of its proceeds to After the Mission and was featured on the official VFW podcast.

  4. 2022

    Hurricane relief in Florida

    After Hurricane Ian, Ricky returned to the Fort Myers veteran community with supplies, tree work and help for a veteran who had lost his home.

  5. 2024

    Clearing roads for emergency access

    After Hurricane Milton, crews cleared trees from roads in the middle of the night so emergency vehicles could get through.

  6. LA

    Louisiana storm response

    At home on the bayou, the same crews answer storm calls for neighbors, disabled veterans, police and firefighters, often at no cost or a steep discount in hardship cases.

24/7 Emergency Availability

Tree Emergency? Call Now.

985-688-4041

When a storm drops trees on homes, cars and roads, our crews respond around the clock. We know Gulf Coast hurricane conditions, and we bring the rigging, equipment and discipline to remove damaged trees safely and in a controlled way.

Veteran Tree Care crew assessing a large storm-damaged oak

If a tree just came down

  1. Get everyone clearKeep people and pets away from the tree, the root plate and any hanging limbs.
  2. Treat every wire as liveIf lines are involved, call 911 and your utility first.
  3. Don’t cut it yourselfStorm-damaged wood is under tension and can release violently.
  4. Photograph the damageWide shots and close-ups help with your insurance claim.
  5. Call us, day or nightWe make the hazard safe, remove the tree under control and work with your insurance company.
Emergency storm response Tree emergency? Call now

Services

Advanced Tree Care, Powered by Purpose.

Our services are organized around four needs, so you can find the right help fast, whether it’s a sick oak, a risk question, pruning or a tree that has to go.

Arborist kneeling in fresh wood chips spread across the root zone of a live oak Root-zone restoration · Houma
01

Tree Preservation & Plant Health

  • Plant health care
  • Disease and pest diagnosis
  • Environmental-stress management
  • Soil and nutrient management
  • Root-zone improvement
  • Deep-root fertilization
  • Soil aeration / decompaction
  • Tree-health inspections
  • Transplanting
  • Cabling / bracing
  • Air-spade work
  • Radial trenching
  • Mature-tree preservation
Tree preservation Tree healthcare Ask about tree preservation
Gloved hand probing internal decay in a hollow stump Decay and cavity inspection
02

Tree Risk & Consulting

  • Professional tree-health inspections
  • Structural assessment
  • Level 1/2/3 risk assessment
  • Root-system evaluation
  • Decay / cavity inspection
  • Tree appraisal
  • Construction-impact mitigation
  • Tree-protection planning
  • Commercial consulting
  • Preservation vs. removal recommendations
Tree risk & consulting
Bucket truck lifting an arborist into a tree canopy against a blue sky Canopy access for structural pruning
03

Professional Pruning

We prune for long-term structure and health, not just to cut the canopy back.

  • Structural pruning
  • Reduction pruning
  • Crown raising
  • Hazard reduction
  • Deadwood removal
  • Species-appropriate pruning
  • Mature-tree pruning
Professional pruning Request a free estimate
Veteran Tree Care chip truck with the Veteran Owned & Operated wrap Veteran Owned & Operated
04

Removal & Emergency Services

  • Hazardous-tree removal
  • Storm-damaged tree removal
  • Controlled removals near structures
  • Stump grinding / removal
  • Emergency response
  • Land & construction-related removals
Tree removal Storm response Request a free estimate

Removal when necessary. Preservation whenever possible.

Explore all services

Commercial & Institutional

Commercial, Municipal, Industrial & Government Tree Care.

Veteran Tree Care supports commercial, municipal, industrial, contractor and government clients with professional documentation, safety discipline, project coordination and arborist-led decisions.

DOTD infrastructure projects Military installations Industrial facilities Municipalities Contractors Private properties

Schedule an arborist consultation
  • Professional documentationFindings, photos and recommendations your team and inspectors can use.
  • Safety requirementsCrews trained to ANSI Z133 and led by a Certified Treecare Safety Professional.
  • Project coordinationOne point of contact for scheduling, site rules and other trades.
  • Risk assessmentsLevel 1, 2 and 3 tree risk assessments.
  • Tree-protection planningRoot-zone protection and construction-impact mitigation before work starts.
  • Ongoing monitoringFollow-up inspections during and after the project.

Commercial & government

Our Team

The People Behind the Work.

Service backgrounds run through the whole operation, from leadership to the ground crew.

  • Andrew Gomez

    10 years U.S. Army, including an Iraq deployment · Arborist

    Founder / Team Leader

  • Lori Williams

    West Point graduate · Army Captain · Afghanistan veteran · Bronze Star

    Owner / Director

  • Dustin Bergeron

    Marine Corps veteran · Three tours in Iraq

    Ground Operations Lead

  • Ricky Folse

    Advanced arborist · Veteran advocate

    Founder

Reviews

What Our Customers Say.

Our reviews live on Google, where customers wrote them.

  • Professionalism
  • Honesty
  • Hard work
  • Technical knowledge
  • Safety
  • Responsiveness
  • Compassion
  • Clean job sites
I have never seen anybody work as hard as this guy, but what I really liked was his honesty and compassion.
Max Hammond, customer
BBB Accredited Business

BBB A+ Accredited Business
Veteran Tree Care LLC, Houma

Read our Google reviews All reviews & ratings

Past Performance

From the Governor of Louisiana to Bayer.

See our past performance
Past Performance Louisiana’s Leaders & Industry
  • BayerBayer
  • State of Louisiana sealGovernor of Louisiana
  • Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office badgeTerrebonne Parish Sheriff
  • Barriere ConstructionBarriere Construction
  • Louisiana State Senate sealLouisiana State Senate
  • Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office badgeLafourche Parish Sheriff
  • Terrebonne Parish flagTerrebonne Parish District Attorney

Resources

Tree Knowledge for Louisiana Tree Owners.

Written and filmed by arborists who explain the science clearly, starting with the Loving Live Oaks video series.

Tree Messiah from the Cajun Bayou@TreeMessiah · Loving Live Oaks series Subscribe

Read the guides

Don’t take our word for it

Verify Us.

Every credential and rating we list can be checked with the organization that issued it.

Contact

Preserving Trees. Protecting Properties. Continuing the Mission.