Tree removal permit rules in Trinity County, CA — sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances — list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Trinity County has no countywide private tree-removal permit. Removing trees on most rural land is unregulated by the county, but commercial timber harvest is governed by the state Forest Practice Act, and removing larger trees inside the Scenic Conservation Overlay Zone (Code Ch. 17.25) can require a use permit.
Across most of unincorporated Trinity County—which is overwhelmingly forest and Timberland Production zoning—there is no general ordinance requiring a permit to cut down a tree on your own parcel for personal use. Tree removal is instead reached through two channels. First, commercial timber harvesting is regulated by the state: the California Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act (PRC §§ 4511 et seq.) and CAL FIRE / Board of Forestry rules require approved Timber Harvest Plans, and the county's Vegetation Management Ordinance expressly defers to that Act (Code § 8.68.110). Second, the county Scenic Conservation Overlay Zone (Code Ch. 17.25, § 17.25.040) limits vegetation removal in scenic areas: removal of bushes and trees under twenty feet tall is allowed without a use permit if no machinery (other than chain saws / hand tools) is used—meaning removal of taller trees, or use of heavy equipment, can require a use permit. Large-scale land clearing tied to grading may also trigger the county Mass Grading chapter (Code Ch. 15.24). Dead, dying, diseased, or fire-hazard trees can be ordered removed under the Vegetation Management Ordinance (Ch. 8.68).
Outside regulated zones, removing your own trees carries no county penalty. Inside the Scenic Conservation Overlay Zone, unpermitted removal of larger trees can be a zoning violation enforced under Code Ch. 17.36. Illegal commercial timber operations are enforced by CAL FIRE under the Forest Practice Act. Hazard-tree neglect can be abated under Ch. 8.68 (notice, 30-day cure, county cost recovery, misdemeanor under § 8.68.120).
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Trinity County's tree removal & heritage trees rules stack up against other locations.
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