Nashua, NH Tree Protection: Tree Ordinances (2026)

Nashua does not have a single, standalone tree-protection chapter analogous to a 'Chapter 270 Trees' that some NH towns adopt. Its tree-protection authority is distributed across the City Charter, the Land Use Code (Chapter 190), and state law. The Board of Public Works' Charter authority gives it 'cognizance, direction and full control' of the planting and care of trees standing in the streets and public ways, exercised through the Public Works Division. Chapter 190 Article XXVII Landscaping sets the operative private-development standards: trees shall be hardy for the Nashua botanical zone; deciduous shade trees shall have a minimum 2½-inch trunk caliper at 6 inches above grade at planting; evergreen trees shall be at least 6 feet tall; the mixture shall be no more than 60% deciduous and no less than 40% evergreen; and inclusion of existing trees in the landscape design is encouraged. Required landscape material must be maintained in a healthy, growing condition and replaced as needed. Chapter 190 Article XI Wetlands protects trees in delineated wetland and buffer areas with Conservation Commission review for landscape work. State law layers on RSA 231:139 (Tree Wardens), RSA 231:145 (declaration and removal of hazardous highway trees), RSA 231:147 (notice requirements for healthy public shade-tree removal), RSA 231:158 (penalty for intentional damage to public shade trees), and RSA 482-A (Fill and Dredge in Wetlands). Nashua is recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, which requires a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation; NH Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday in April.