Cumberland County, ME Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

Because Cumberland County does not adopt zoning or general police-power ordinances (Maine counties have no such authority over organized municipalities under 30-A MRS §3001 and the LUPC framework in 12 MRS §685-A), there is no county-wide rule requiring a property owner to replant trees after removal, to plant a fixed ratio of replacements per inch of trunk removed, or to contribute to a tree fund. Where tree replacement obligations apply within Cumberland County, they come from three sources: (1) MUNICIPAL site-plan, subdivision, or landscape ordinances — most Cumberland County cities (Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, Brunswick) require a landscape plan with caliper-based replacement standards for commercial development and may impose tree-removal mitigation as a condition of site-plan approval; (2) SHORELAND ENFORCEMENT — under 38 MRS §439-A and DEP Chapter 1000 (Guidelines for Municipal Shoreland Zoning Ordinances), illegal clearing within the 250-foot shoreland zone typically triggers a DEP- or municipality-approved revegetation plan requiring planting of native species sufficient to restore the disturbed canopy, in addition to civil penalties under 30-A MRS §4452; (3) FOREST PRACTICES ACT enforcement — the Maine Forest Service may require corrective planting as part of a consent agreement for liquidation-harvesting or clear-cutting violations under 12 MRS §8868–§8888. There is no state-mandated 1:1 or 2:1 inch-for-inch replacement ratio applicable countywide; ratios are set at the municipal level (commonly 1:1 caliper-inch replacement for site-plan trees) or fixed in the DEP revegetation plan for the specific shoreland violation.