Trees are typically regulated at the local level (City, County, HOA, etc.) with relatively few state or federal laws protecting trees. Each community decides, more or less separately, which trees can and can't be removed and what information is required in order to approve tree removals (permits). Depending on where in Washington County a tree is growing, there may be essentially no protection, a formal permitting process, or it may depend on why the tree is being removed.
Ryan Gilpin is Principle Consultant at Nidus Consulting, a Portland based arboriculture and ecology consulting company. As a consulting arborist, Ryan has read and navigated hundreds of different ordinances, mostly related to construction across North America. Ryan will review with us: what he looks for in reading ordinances, some important details in the ordinances across Washington County, how these compare to other parts of North America, and how communities typically develop ordinances.
