NIGP 98802: Arborist Services

NIGP 98802 Arborist Services, an Item code, encompasses tree inspection, health assessment, pruning, removal, stump grinding, and emergency debris clearance that state and local governments procure to manage urban forests, mitigate fire risk, ensure public safety, and comply with tree ordinances across municipal properties and rights-of-way. Work solicited under this code ranges from specialized consulting—detailed tree inventories and risk evaluations compliant with International Society of Arboriculture and ANSI standards—to operational crew services including line clearance, hazard-tree removal, and emergency response. Cities and counties issue the majority of recent opportunities under this code, with several solicitations from utility authorities managing vegetation adjacent to energized power lines. The City of Orlando, the City of Bridgeport, Lehi City, Springville City Power, and the Savannah Airport Commission are among recent issuers; the City of Charlotte and County of Orange have posted multi-year, multi-location contracts covering neighborhood tree planting, canopy care, and facility-wide arboricultural management. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and Caltrans represent state-level activity for hospital grounds and right-of-way vegetation management, respectively. Request for Proposals and Invitation for Bid notices dominate the recent sample, with response dates concentrated in June through July 2026.

Geographic activity spans California (San Diego, San Mateo, Tucson, and Caltrans statewide), Florida (Orlando, Collier County, St. Petersburg), Utah (Springville, Lehi), Georgia (DeKalb County, Savannah, Albany), and Connecticut (Bridgeport, Norwalk), with additional current opportunities in Nevada, Texas (Arlington), Kentucky, and Oregon. The City of Orlando's RFP (due May 21, 2026) for arborist consulting, tree removal, and pruning—federally funded through a U.S. Forest Service Inflation Reduction Act award and weighted 60 percent on ISA Certified Arborist credentials with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification and five years' urban forestry experience—exemplifies the professional-certification and experience floor common across municipal and utility solicitations. The City of Bridgeport's on-call contract (due September 15, 2026) for citywide tree maintenance, capped at $100,000 annually with two optional renewals through 2029, and Lehi City's two-year energized line clearance RFP (due September 28, 2026) with itemized hourly rates for ISA-certified technicians illustrate the range of contract structures. Utility line clearance work—present in solicitations from Springville City Power (three-year, three-phase contract covering 2,608 trees at 7,200–46,000 volts) and the California Department of General Services (SB/DVBE-only small-business set-aside for San Diego County vegetation control adjacent to power lines, due October 15, 2026)—represents a distinct high-volume segment requiring ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist credentials and statutory insurance thresholds often exceeding $2 million general aggregate.