Mono County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Mono County does not impose a city-style protected-tree or diameter-based removal permit for private trees on private land. Hazardous trees are addressed through the County's Chapter 22 Fire Safe Regulation, which requires removal of dead, dying, or fire-prone vegetation within the firebreak (0-30 ft) and reduced-fuel zone (30-100 ft), consistent with state PRC 4291 defensible-space law in the State Responsibility Area. The County's Conservation/Open Space Element actually encourages removing invasive trees and annual grasses as part of habitat restoration and reducing fire risk, and directs that revegetation favor local native stock. For development projects, tree and vegetation impacts are reviewed under the General Plan's biological-resources and CEQA processes rather than a standalone tree-removal permit. Much of unincorporated Mono County is federal land (U.S. Forest Service / BLM) or Los Angeles Department of Water and Power land in the Mono Basin and Owens watershed; tree removal on those lands is governed by the managing agency, not the County. Property owners should still confirm a tree is not in the County right-of-way or a mapped sensitive habitat before removing it.