Apollo O'Neil, BCMA — Board Certified Master Arborist
Apollo O'Neil is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA, FL-6102B) and CEO of O'Neil's Tree Service and O'Neil's Land Care, based in Palm Harbor, Florida. He holds TRAQ qualification and has been in arboricultural practice since 2006. He provides consulting, risk assessment, and complex tree care oversight throughout Pinellas County and the broader Tampa Bay region.
Credentials and Qualifications
ISA Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA)
The BCMA is the highest field certification issued by the International Society of Arboriculture. Candidates must already hold an ISA Certified Arborist credential in good standing and accumulate eight qualification points from a combination of full-time arboricultural experience, formal education, related credentials, and professional experience. They must then pass a comprehensive written examination covering tree biology, soil science, diagnosis, risk assessment, and arboricultural practice, and maintain ongoing continuing education for recertification. Fewer than 2% of ISA Certified Arborists hold this credential.
Apollo O’Neil holds BCMA credential FL-6102B, first certified 2018. When he earned the credential, he was among a small number of practitioners in Florida to hold it at the time.
ISA Certified Arborist
Apollo held ISA Certified Arborist credential FL-6102A, first certified 2009. When an arborist achieves the BCMA designation, the ISA retires the standard Certified Arborist suffix and reassigns the credential number with a B designation. FL-6102A is now FL-6102B. The ISA Certified Arborist credential requires a minimum of three years of full-time professional experience, passage of a written examination, and ongoing continuing education.
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)
TRAQ is an ISA-administered qualification for structured tree risk assessment. TRAQ-qualified practitioners are trained to conduct Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 risk assessments using the methodology documented in Best Management Practices for Tree Risk Assessment, and to produce defensible written risk reports. Apollo has held TRAQ qualification since 2013.
Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification (TPAQ)
The TPAQ credential qualifies arborists to conduct formal tree and plant appraisals using recognized valuation methodologies, including the trunk formula method and the cost approach. Appraisals are used in property damage disputes, estate valuations, litigation support, and situations where the monetary value of trees or ornamentals must be documented. Apollo holds TPAQ qualification.
Additional Credentials
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NCCER Crane Operator — qualified for operating and directing crane-assisted tree work using all-terrain, fixed boom, and articulating (knuckleboom) cranes
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CPO Lawn and Ornamental License — through O'Neil's Land Care division
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Professional Mangrove Trimmer — Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2012
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Green Industries BMP — Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2011
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CTSP — Certified Tree Safety Professional (previously held 8 years)
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Loren Westenberger Award, 2014 — Florida Chapter ISA, for practicing professional principles of arboriculture consistent with the mission and objectives of the Florida Chapter ISA
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Florida ISA President's Award of Merit, 2017 — for outstanding meritorious services in advancing the principles, ideas, and practices of progressive arboriculture
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Inc. 5000, 2019 — O'Neil's Tree Service recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the United States
Background and Practice
Apollo founded O’Neil’s Tree Service in Palm Harbor in 2008 after working in the industry since 2005. The company has grown from a small local operation to one of the most highly credentialed tree service firms in Pinellas County, with a team that includes multiple ISA Certified Arborists and TRAQ-qualified staff.
His practice emphasis is on the intersection of arboricultural science and client decision-making. The goal at every consultation is to give the property owner enough information to make a well-reasoned decision, not to drive a transaction. That philosophy extends to the company’s education-first approach to marketing and client communication.
Apollo also oversees O’Neil’s Land Care, which provides integrated pest management, mosquito control, and lawn fertilization services under the Urban Land Stewards brand. Both divisions operate under the same philosophy: understand the system before intervening in it.
O’Neil’s Tree Service exists to set the gold standard in tree care through expertise, integrity, and efficiency, and to raise the standard of how communities think about and care for trees. Our job isn’t to be needed forever. It’s to educate, to demonstrate, and to empower, so the people we serve become better stewards of the trees and communities around them.
Know your trees. Protect your property.
Areas of Focus
Complex Risk Assessment
Apollo handles risk assessments for properties where the stakes are highest: large-canopy trees over occupied structures, trees in commercial and institutional settings, pre-litigation assessments, and cases involving suspected disease or structural failure. He conducts Level 2 and Level 3 assessments and produces formal written reports where required.
O’Neil’s Tree Service owns and operates a Resistograph, a precision instrument that measures wood density through incremental drill-bit resistance mapping, allowing direct assessment of internal decay columns without destructive sampling. Apollo and the team also have training and field experience with sonic tomography, which uses sound wave mapping to detect structural strength loss that is not visible externally. That depth of diagnostic capability produces more precise findings than visual inspection alone and meaningfully changes the recommendations that result.
Plant Health Care and Diagnosis
When a tree shows decline symptoms and the cause isn’t clear, Apollo conducts diagnostic evaluations that work from the root zone up. Ganoderma infections, nutrient deficiencies in sandy coastal soils, Hypoxylon canker, Lethal Bronzing Disease in palms, and construction-related root damage are all cases he sees regularly in Pinellas County.
Tree and Plant Appraisal
Apollo provides formal tree and plant appraisals for property damage disputes, estate matters, litigation support, and situations requiring documented monetary valuation of trees or ornamentals. Appraisals follow recognized methodologies and are produced as formal written reports appropriate for legal and insurance use.
Expert Witness and Consulting
Apollo provides expert witness services in tree-related litigation including storm damage disputes, property damage cases, and tree failure investigations. He holds a formal engagement letter and protocol for expert witness engagements, available on request. He also provides development consulting for projects requiring tree impact analysis, mitigation plans, and permit support.
For more information on expert witness engagements and arboricultural consulting, visit apollooneil.com.
Structural Pruning and Cabling
For large, high-value specimens where preservation is the goal, Apollo designs multi-year structural pruning programs and supplemental support system installations. He works to ANSI A300 standards throughout and documents the program rationale for property owners and future arborists.
Frequently Asked Questions
The BCMA is the highest certification level issued by the International Society of Arboriculture. Candidates must be ISA Certified Arborists in good standing, meet an eight-point qualification threshold combining experience, education, and related credentials, pass a comprehensive written examination, and maintain continuing education requirements. Fewer than 2% of ISA Certified Arborists hold this credential. It is the standard that signals a practitioner has reached the highest published level of arboricultural competence.
Yes, for properties where the complexity warrants it. A site consultation with Apollo is $150, applicable toward any work that follows on the property. His focus is on large-canopy trees over structures, disease and decline diagnosis, construction impact assessment, and situations requiring a written risk report or formal documentation. For standard residential pruning and removal, the ISA Certified Arborist team handles those engagements.
TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification) is an ISA credential specific to structured risk assessment. It trains practitioners in the tiered assessment methodology, failure probability analysis, consequence evaluation, and written documentation. For a risk assessment to be defensible, especially in an insurance or legal context, it should be conducted by a TRAQ-qualified arborist.
Yes. Apollo provides expert witness services in tree-related litigation, storm damage disputes, and property damage cases. Engagements begin with a formal letter of engagement covering scope, fees, and independence standards. Contact the office at (727) 599-7548 for expert witness inquiries.
Primary service area is Clearwater and Palm Harbor, with regular work throughout Pinellas County including Belleair, Belleair Bluffs, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Oldsmar, parts of Tamp and surrounding municipalities. Commercial and consulting work extends to Tampa and the broader Tampa Bay region.
Contact
For consulting inquiries, risk assessment requests, or expert witness engagements, contact O’Neil’s Tree Service at (727) 599-7548 or through the contact form on this site.
