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Growing and maintaining a healthy urban forest requires commitment and action by a number of City departments and our residents. Wondering where to find information about a particular tree issue? Not sure who you should call? Use the links and contact information below.

Trees in Neighborhoods
Trees Along Streets
Trees in Parks
Trees Near Power Lines
Trees on Private Property
Urban Forestry Policy

General Contact Lines:

(206) 684-TREE (8733) or email treesforseattle@seattle.gov

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Trees in Neighborhoods

Trees for Seattle engages the public in the stewardship of the urban forest to achieve a sustainable and resilient ecosystem benefitting all Seattle residents. We help residents help grow and maintain healthy trees around their homes, engage volunteers, and provide technical support such as workshops and our Ask the Experts portal.

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Trees Along Streets

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is responsible for all trees found in the right-of-way, however day to day maintenance of street trees is often the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. If you're planning to plant, remove, or prune branches of a street tree larger than 2 inches, you must first obtain a permit from SDOT.

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Trees in Parks

Seattle Parks and Recreation manages the health and safety of all trees throughout the City’s park system, including boulevards.

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Trees Near Power Lines

Seattle City Light maintains and monitors over 300,000 trees with the potential to grow or fall into power lines and critical infrastructure. Through their Distribution Power Line Clearance and Transmission Vegetation Management programs, City Light provides safe and reliable power to its customers by maintaining the necessary clearance distances from more than 500 miles of overhead lines each year. City Light's Urban Tree Replacement Program provides for hundreds of trees to be planted annually to mitigate its impact on the urban forest.

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Trees on Private Property

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) administers and enforces regulations related to private property. This includes undeveloped land, developed property, developing property, as well as properties that have Environmentally Critical Areas or those properties located in Shoreline Districts. 

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Urban Forest Policy

The Office of Sustainability & Environment oversees city-wide urban forestry policy, including implementation of the Urban Forest Stewardship Plan, coordinating the interdepartmental urban forest team, and staffs the Urban Forest Commission.

Resources / Links:

  • The Urban Forest Stewardship Plan (UFSP) provides a long-term vision for increasing canopy cover in Seattle.
  • The Urban Forestry Commission advises the Mayor and City Council concerning the establishment of policy and regulations governing urban forest management in the City of Seattle.

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