About Us
At the beginning of 2023 the owners of Trees For Life, Ian MacCallum and Jane Hunt, expanded the company by selling it to Bigfork natives and long-time friends Alec MacCallum and Skyler Doak. After getting their degrees, Alec and Skyler worked with other tree care firms out of state before returning to Bigfork. Alec has been with TFL since 2017 and Skyler started his own successful tree care business, Flathead Tree and Landscape, around the same time. Alec and Skyler are combining their youthful energy, love of trees, and dedication to professional arboriculture to meet the increasing demand for quality tree care and forest management here in the valley.
TFL will take on the area’s growing demand for tree work with not just these two experienced arborists, but also a greatly talented and qualified crew. With close to 60 years of combined experience in arboriculture and forestry, 11 ISA Certified Arborists (with more to come), and a fleet of specialized equipment, this crew is hard-pressed to find a challenge they can’t overcome. And that doesn’t even include the 40+ years of invaluable expertise Ian will provide from his role as consulting advisor. Jane and Ian set the standard decades ago that TFL will continue to uphold: the utmost care for our employees, clients, and our trees. Now, more than ever, trees are a major component in making Flathead Valley the gem of Northwest Montana, and Trees For Life is poised to keep it that way.
Alec Hunt MacCallum
Owner Operator
Certified Arborist #PN-8241A
ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ)
I’m very excited to take on this challenge of running Trees for Life. All my life I’ve looked at my dad, up in the trees, and wanted to be like him. He has been an amazing role model for me as I’ve watched him, not just in his work ethic and passion for his craft, but also in how he’s treated people along the way. He’s left us with a great infrastructure of loyal clientele and a workplace that arborists love. But mostly, he’s made me believe in myself that I can run this great company, continue caring for trees, and safely perform exceptional tree care. I’m very fortunate to be here running a successful company in the town I group up, and even more fortunate to be working with my lifelong friend and now partner, Skyler. Since joining the industry in 2015, I know how hard it is to find compatible people. I would put this nucleus of arborists up against any in Montana.
Skyler Klee Doak
Owner Operator
ISA Certified Arborist # RM-8207A
I grew up here in Bigfork, MT surrounded by the forest. After receiving a BS in Environmental Science from Western Washington University, I put my degree to work doing research (behind a computer screen) on the interactions of fish and wood in rivers for Oregon State University. Quickly I realized that I was seeking a more active profession, and moved to Nevada and began doing ecological restoration. After a summer of working with a chainsaw and improving forest health, I decided that becoming an arborist was the best combination of science, climbing and working with forest care. After years of training and running a tree service in Boulder, Colorado, I returned to Montana, the only place I can truly call home. After several years of running my own show, I realized that I needed help to efficiently grow my business and maintain quality service. In 2023 I merged with Trees For Life to help distribute the burden of running a business so I can continue to provide the highest quality care for your trees and forest.
Nick Merriman
Foreman/Supervisor
ISA RM-8150A, TCIA CTSP #05096
Nick grew up climbing trees and running amuck in the hardwood forests of Pennsylvania. After watching his dad fell a large oak for family firewood, he told his mom he was going to be a lumberjack when he grew up. Inspired by his aunt’s Peace Corps stories he volunteered for Americorps programs in Colorado, Maryland, and Montana. He naturally gravitated to any task that involved a chainsaw.
After the Montana Conservation Corps, he attended Flathead Valley Community College where he participated on the logger sports team.
Nick joined the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) as a wildland firefighter in 1998. During the off seasons, he worked for a small tree care company in Seattle, and the cycle of the fire season and tree work continued for years.
After a 20 year career in wildland fire, he decided to pursue arboriculture full time. He started part time with Trees for Life in the spring of 2018. Soon after, he and TFL realized that it was “meant to be” and he started full time the following winter.
He is an International Society of Arborculture Certified Arborist and Tree Care Industry Association Certified Treecare Safety Professional. Nick brings to TFL years of forestry andwildfire management, hazard tree felling, countless hours as an instructor, as well as his experience as a climber and rigger. Nick feels very lucky to have two careers he loves. He has a passion for risk management, training, and working with a tightly-knit skilled crew.
