Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 2 PM
By Phyllis Knight
Arborist Joran Viers will speak on tree health during drought, including such topics as understanding the resources trees need and how the trees use those resources; the effects of drought on trees; and strategies to offset those effects while maximizing water use efficiency.
Viers has spent over two decades looking at trees in the Albuquerque area and trying to diagnose what their problems. Often, the root cause is, pun intended, in the soil. We live in a desert environment, and trees are naturally limited to the few ecosystems with sufficient soil moisture – high mountains and riverbanks. Many of our trees are experiencing chronic drought stress, which then leads to a host of other problems – insects, diseases, and general failure to thrive.
Joran Viers is a senior arborist working with Legacy Tree Company. Legacy is a full-range tree care company, offering services from planting through pruning and removal. They pride themselves on knowledge and skill; three of the arborists on staff hold the coveted Board-Certified Master Arborist credential, and all of the sales arborists and crew leads hold the Certified Arborist credential. Legacy Tree Company supports public education on trees and tree care and is happy to have Viers speak on those issues.
He was born in Albuquerque but grew up in the woods of costal California, the cloud forest of Costa Rica, and the Ozark National Forest of rural northwest Arkansas. This led to a life-long love of plants and the natural sciences. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of New Mexico, and a master’s degree in Botany from the University of Florida. His prior work includes self-employment as a Consulting Arborist, City Forester for the City of Albuquerque, County Horticulture Agent and County Director for the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service of New Mexico State University.
Joran has been very involved in urban tree care issues since his time with the Cooperative Extension Service, where a major job duty was performing diagnostics based on site visits and samples sent to the lab. As part of that involvement, he has been a member of Think Trees NM since 2003, an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist since 2016, and holds Tree Risk Assessment Qualification from ISA.