When Special Trees are removed in DC, owners must either plant replacement trees on-site or pay into the DC Tree Fund at $55 per inch of removed circumference. DDOT Urban Forestry plants approximately 8,000 street trees annually. Replacement trees must come from the approved native/adapted species list and meet minimum 2-inch caliper standards.
DC's tree replacement framework is tied to the Urban Forestry Preservation Act (DC Code 8-651.01 et seq.) and administered by DOEE. When a Special Tree (44-99 inch circumference) is approved for removal, the permittee has two options: plant replacement trees on the same property, or pay a fee-in-lieu into the DC Tree Fund. The fee is $55 per inch of circumference removed (so a 60-inch tree costs $3,300 to the fund). Replacement plantings must total an aggregate inch-for-inch circumference or specified caliper ratios, using species from DOEE's approved list of native or well-adapted trees (red oak, tulip poplar, American elm cultivars, serviceberry, blackgum, red maple, etc.). Minimum caliper for replacements is 2 inches at planting, with 2.5 inches preferred. Plantings must survive a 2-year establishment warranty period — if they die, the permittee replants. The Tree Fund pays DDOT Urban Forestry to plant street trees across the District, with priority to wards with lower canopy cover (east of the river). DC's tree canopy goal is 40% citywide by 2032 under the Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan, up from roughly 38% today. For Heritage Tree removals (only in hazardous cases), replacement requirements scale up significantly — typically 3:1 or more — in addition to any fine.
Failure to plant replacement trees: $55 per inch default to Tree Fund, lien if unpaid. Dead replacements not replanted: additional per-inch fees. Non-native or disapproved species planted: removal and replant at permittee cost. Fraudulent claim of planting: up to $2,000 and permit revocation.
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