Casper, WY Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 12.32.080 makes it unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation, other than an abutting property owner exempted under Section 12.32.110, to prune, trim, plant, remove or replace a tree or shrub on public property or within the public right-of-way without a written permit from the director of the Casper parks and recreation department or the director's designee. Applicants must describe the work and its location in writing; the permit is free of charge but expires sixty days after issuance unless the director sets a shorter window.

The director can dictate exactly how the trimming or cutting is to be done and sets the reasonable standards permits must meet under subsection C. If a permit is denied, subsection D gives the applicant five days to file a written appeal with the city clerk, copied to the city attorney; the city council must then hear the appeal at its next regular meeting held at least three days after the notice is filed. Subsection E separately requires a written permit before any tree or shrub is planted in or removed from a public street, parking strip or other public property, again from the parks and recreation director.

Work performed under a permit is subject to traffic-control conditions under Section 12.32.100, and any commercial arborist doing the work must be ISA-certified and keep a certified arborist on site during aerial operations under Section 12.32.090. Doing the work without the required permit, or violating the planting/removal permit provision, is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to seven hundred fifty dollars under §§ 12.32.080.B and .E.