Over the past few years, I have covered the utility vegetation management industry for T&D World magazine and partnered with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) on the annual Vegetation Management supplement. 

I've also had the opportunity to travel to the Trees & Utilities conference, presented by the UAA and the Arbor Day Foundation. I've experienced this event in different cities from Omaha to Fort Worth, Texas, to Knoxville, Tennessee and Cincinnati, Ohio. This year, I flew from my hometown of Kansas City to Portland, Oregon, for the first Trees & Utilities on the West Coast. 

When I arrived at the Portland airport, I was greeted by a variety of trees inside the terminal, and that experience continued as I made my way downtown, where trees were everywhere the eye could see. In fact, from my hotel room window, I could see dozens of different trees planted in a nearby park. 

After I walked about a mile from my hotel to the Oregon Convention Center, I had the chance to walk the trade show floor and talk with exhibitors, sit in on conference sessions and attend networking events to connect with professionals in the UVM industry.

I also recorded several episodes of the Line Life Podcast, starting with Dennis Fallon, executive director of the UAA. To listen to this episode, visit Podbean or your favorite podcast app, and stay tuned for more episodes focused on UVM and the conference. 

In the meantime, check out scenes from the September 2026 event in this photo gallery, which features not only my photos, but also images from Eira & Oak Photography. 

To learn more about the 2027 event, stay tuned to the event page, subscribe to T&D World's Vegetation Management & Wildfire Mitigation enewsletter or visit our Vegetation Management page. I hope to see all of you at the 2027 conference in Cincinnati!