Dane County, WI Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Dane County, WI, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Buffer zone extent
- 300 ft from ordinary high-water mark
- Default rule
- Vegetation removal prohibited
- No-permit exceptions
- Maintenance, farming, NRCS/DNR restoration
- Access corridor limit
- 30% of shoreline width or 30 ft
- Narrow-lot corridor cap
- 6 feet
- Permit fee
- $150
- Applies in
- Unincorporated shoreland only
Summary
In Dane County's unincorporated shoreland areas, within 300 feet of a lake, river, or stream's ordinary high-water mark, removing trees and shrubs from the vegetative buffer zone is prohibited unless it falls under a narrow no-permit exception or is authorized by a shoreland zoning permit, and even permitted water-access clearing is capped by lot width.
(2) Removal of vegetation. Unless excepted in sections (3), (4) or (5) below, removal of vegetation is prohibited within the vegetative buffer zone. ... (4) Exceptions with shoreland zoning permit. Removal of vegetation within the vegetative buffer zone is permitted, subject to the approval of a shoreland zoning permit by the zoning administrator, for the following. (a) Access and viewing corridor. Removal of trees and shrubs to create one access and viewing corridor to the water per lot, provided the following conditions are met: 1. On lots that are 20 feet or wider at the shoreline, the width of such corridor does not exceed 30% of the lot width, or 30 feet, whichever is less. 2. On lots that are less than 20 feet wide at the shoreline, the width of such corridor does not exceed 6 feet.
Full Breakdown
04 of the Shoreland, Shoreland-Wetland and Inland-Wetland Regulations starts from a default prohibition: removal of vegetation within the vegetative buffer zone is barred unless an exception applies. Three no-permit exceptions exist under subsection (3), routine maintenance, non-structural agricultural practices under an approved farm conservation plan, and soil-conservation or ecological-restoration work built to Natural Resources Conservation Service or DNR specifications. Beyond those narrow categories, a landowner needs a shoreland zoning permit from the zoning administrator before cutting trees or shrubs in the buffer. The most common permitted use is an access and viewing corridor to the water: subsection (4)(a) caps the corridor at 30% of the lot's shoreline width or 30 feet, whichever is less, on lots 20 feet or wider at the shoreline, and at 6 feet on narrower lots, and only one corridor per lot is allowed under this basic exception.
This chapter governs only the unincorporated shoreland areas of the county; it does not reach properties inside Madison, Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Middleton, Verona, Stoughton, or Monona, each of which administers its own shoreland or tree ordinance. The permit fee for a shoreland zoning permit is $150 under s. 50(1).
Violations & Fines
Cutting trees or shrubs in the vegetative buffer zone without qualifying for a no-permit exception or securing a shoreland zoning permit is enforceable the same way as any other Chapter 11 violation: the zoning administrator can cite the landowner under Chapter 2 of the county code, and the county's shoreland mitigation provisions can require restoration of the buffer at the violator's expense before further permits will be issued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to clear brush along my Dane County lake shoreline?
How wide can I cut a path to the water?
Does this rule apply inside the City of Madison?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dane County
Compare Dane County to another location·View the Wisconsin landscaping rules overview
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