Tree & shrub care in Standish, Maine.

Maine's shoreland rules score the trees near a great pond in 25-by-50-foot plots, giving more points to larger trunks, and require each plot beside the water to keep a set total. Across the whole 250-foot zone, no more than 40 percent of tree volume may come out in ten years. Pruning for a view or for clearance over a camp roof is usually possible within those limits where removing the tree is not, which is one reason careful limbing is the default near the shore.

Much of Standish's woodland is managed. The comprehensive plan notes that land in Maine's Tree Growth tax program has to follow a management plan from a licensed forester. When a house lot is carved from that kind of forest, the trees left at the edge grew up in a stand rather than in the open, and structural pruning helps them adjust to standing on their own.

On the Saco, the Saco River Corridor Commission prohibits cutting trees for views in the strip nearest the river. Deadwood and hazard limbs are a different matter from opening a vista, and the work is planned with that line in mind.