3 rules for unincorporated Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
Verified from official government sources
Plymouth County issues no tree-removal permits and has no authority to. Permits are required only for public shade trees, granted by each town's tree warden after a public hearing, under MGL c.87 §3.
MGL c.87 §3
Except as provided by section five, public shade trees shall not be cut, trimmed or removed, in whole or in part, by any person other than the tree warden or his deputy, even if he be the owner of the fee in the land on which such tree is situated, except upon a permit in writing from said tree warden, nor shall they be cut down or removed by the tree warden or his deputy or other person withou...
Plymouth County designates no heritage trees. The strongest state protection is the Scenic Roads Act, MGL c.40 §15C: on a town-designated scenic road, no tree may be cut and no stone wall torn down without planning board consent.
MGL c.40 §15C
After a road has been designated as a scenic road any repair, maintenance, reconstruction, or paving work done with respect thereto shall not involve or include the cutting or removal of trees, or the tearing down or destruction of stone walls, or portions thereof, except with the prior written consent of the planning board, or if there is no planning board, the selectmen of a town, or the city...
No county rule forces tree replacement in Plymouth County. For public shade trees removed without consent, MGL c.87 §6 imposes a forfeiture of up to five hundred dollars per violation to the town, on top of tree-warden replanting conditions.
MGL c.87 §6
Violations of any provision of the three preceding sections shall be punished by forfeiture of not more than five hundred dollars to the use of the city or town.
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