Cumberland County, ME Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Cumberland County does not adopt a code, does not maintain a tree-species inventory, and does not list any species as locally protected (30-A MRS §3001 vests that authority in municipalities). Statewide protections that DO apply within Cumberland County come from four sources: (1) Maine Endangered Species Act and Natural Areas Program — administered by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, identifies State Endangered and Threatened plants on the Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) list; Cumberland County hosts populations of state-listed rarities including red pine on some Casco Bay islands and a small number of disjunct plants — but Maine's endangered plant law primarily protects species on public land and does not generally prohibit cutting on private property; (2) MAINE FOREST SERVICE QUARANTINES under 12 MRS §8301-A and DACF Chapter 266 rules — emerald ash borer (EAB), browntail moth, hemlock woolly adelgid, and Asian longhorned beetle quarantines restrict movement of ash, hemlock, hardwood firewood, and nursery stock; ash from quarantined Maine counties (EAB is established in Cumberland County) may not be moved out of the regulated area without compliance with the Compliance Agreement program; (3) FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (16 USC §1531 et seq.) — the federally threatened Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) roosts in mature trees throughout Cumberland County during the maternity period (June 1 – July 31); USFWS guidance recommends avoiding tree clearing >3 inches DBH during the maternity season in known roosting habitat; (4) SHORELAND ZONING and the species-blind 40% selective cutting cap in 38 MRS §439-A(5) functions as a de facto protection for older specimens within 250 feet of protected waters. White pine (Maine's state tree, designated by 1 MRS §211) carries no special legal protection beyond ordinary property law.