Tree removal in Yarmouth, Maine.

On waterfront property, Yarmouth's Chapter 701 lays out specific rules. A hazard tree in the shoreland zone may be removed without a permit after consulting the Code Enforcement Officer. Inside the shoreline buffer, if removal opens more than 250 square feet of canopy, a native replacement tree is required unless new growth is already present, and stumps may not be removed. The officer can require more than one-for-one replacement for hazard trees over eight inches in diameter.

Outside the buffer but still in the shoreland zone, replacement planting is triggered when hazard-tree removal takes more than 40 percent of the volume of trees four inches or larger in any ten-year period, or pushes cleared openings past 25 percent of the shoreland area or 10,000 square feet.

Storm-damaged trees follow a similar path. In the buffer, the opening must be allowed to revegetate naturally, stumps stay in the ground, and the space cannot become new lawn. If nothing regrows after one growing season, native seedlings are planted at one per 80 square feet of lost canopy.

Ash is not the only reason for removals. The comprehensive plan also names oak wilt and beech leaf disease among threats to trees in town, and the public tree program itself removed 25 trees in 2023.