Nassau County, FL Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Nassau County's tree protection article treats Quercus virginiana and Quercus geminata, the live oaks that define Amelia Island's maritime forest, differently from ordinary protected trees. A specimen tree is any healthy live oak forty inches or more in diameter at breast height, or a multi-trunk live oak with combined trunk diameters of sixty inches or more, as verified by an ISA-certified arborist approved by the Board of County Commissioners. None of the article's general exemptions or waivers apply to specimen trees. Removing one requires its own permit from the planning department, supported by a notarized arborist report addressing the removal criteria, supporting documentation, and a tree replacement plan.

The Nassau County-Amelia Island Tree Commission, a five-member board with a landscape architect, a certified arborist and two Amelia Island residents, decides the permit at a public hearing, and can approve removal only if the tree is dead, structurally compromised with a high likelihood of failure, blocks all economically viable use of the property, or if no feasible design alternative exists. Every approved removal must be mitigated by planting a new three-inch caliper live oak on site, on top of any other landscaping or replacement obligation, and tree preservation credits cannot offset that planting.

Cutting down a healthy specimen tree that does not meet the removal criteria, doing it without a permit, or damaging one so it is likely to die can draw a penalty of up to $15,000, decided by the special magistrate, in addition to the standard restoration requirement.