Amador County, CA Tree Protection: Tree Removal Permits (2026)

Amador County's published code does not establish a routine tree-removal permit (sometimes called a 'tree protection' or 'heritage tree' permit) for cutting trees on private parcels in the unincorporated county. A property owner generally does not need a county permit to remove individual trees, and the county's defensible-space chapter (County Code Chapter 7.30) directs removal of hazardous and dead trees around structures. Tree protection instead attaches to discretionary land-use approvals. When a project may significantly affect oak woodlands, the county must analyze the impact under the California Environmental Quality Act and the Amador County General Plan conservation policies, and California Public Resources Code 21083.4 requires the county to impose mitigation such as conservation easements, planting and maintaining replacement trees (capped at half the requirement and ending seven years after planting), in-lieu contributions to the Oak Woodlands Conservation Fund, or other measures. As a result, tree-removal 'permits' in unincorporated Amador County typically come in the form of conditions on a use permit, subdivision, or grading approval rather than a stand-alone tree permit. Commercial timber operations require a Timber Harvest Plan or exemption approved by CAL FIRE under the California Forest Practice Act, independent of county zoning.