Santa Fe, NM Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)

1's definitions article names tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima, directly under NOXIOUS WEED: any living stage, including seeds and reproductive parts, of any parasitic or other plant designated as a noxious weed by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, including Siberian elm, Russian olive, tree of heaven and salt cedar. 4(F)(5), Preservation of Existing Vegetation. Ordinarily, no deciduous tree six inches in caliper or larger may be removed without the land use director's or public works director's approval. But Subsection (F)(5)(c) carves out an exception for trees classified by the New Mexico department of agriculture as noxious weeds that are smaller than a twelve inch caliper, naming tree of heaven specifically as exempt from that review.

A tree of heaven under 12 inches in caliper can be cut down without any land use department sign-off at all. Subsection (F)(5)(g) goes a step further, stating flatly that the preservation of plant species classified as noxious weeds is discouraged. 4(F)(3)(b), so a property owner may still keep an existing tree of heaven; the city simply declines to protect it and will not require replacement if it comes down.