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ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist — Practice Exam

Integrated vegetation management: practice questions

Our ISA Utility Specialist bank has 43 questions on this topic. Here are 5 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.

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Question 1

In Ballard et al., how narrow could Bramble's original wire zone be?

  1. As narrow as the width of a vehicle
  2. Always at least 200 feet wide, so trucks could pass on both sides of the towers
  3. The full ROW width
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A. As narrow as the width of a vehicle — It was first meant to provide access down the middle of the ROW.

Question 2

How did Ballard et al. say the original wire zone–border zone diagram misled users?

  1. It showed the wire zone too wide
  2. It had no wire zone
  3. Its border zones (about 60% of the width) made the ROW look unusually wide
  4. It showed distribution lines
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C. Its border zones (about 60% of the width) made the ROW look unusually wide — They redrew it to normal operating scale.

Question 3

Which control methods may IVM combine, per the FERC report?

  1. Only herbicides applied by helicopter
  2. Herbicides applied only by helicopter, never combined with any other method
  3. Chemical, biological, cultural, manual and mechanical
  4. Only hand pruning
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C. Chemical, biological, cultural, manual and mechanical — The choice depends on effectiveness, environment, site, safety and economics.

Question 4

Who introduced the wire zone–border zone approach, and when?

  1. Drs. Bramble and Byrnes, in the mid-1980s
  2. The U.S. Forest Service in 1910, as part of its first forestry manual
  3. NERC in 2003
  4. ISA in 2020
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A. Drs. Bramble and Byrnes, in the mid-1980s — Their research ran on Pennsylvania State Game Lands 33.

Question 5

Under FAC-003-5, may an annual work plan be modified?

  1. No, never once it is approved, even if growth changes
  2. Yes, without documentation
  3. Only by NERC
  4. Yes, if changes are documented and don't allow MVCD encroachment
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D. Yes, if changes are documented and don't allow MVCD encroachment — Reasons include changed growth rates or circumstances beyond control.

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