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New Hampshire: Shoreline Tree Cutting Regulations

In 2008, New Hampshire officials made large important changes to shoreline tree removal legislation contained in the New Hampshire Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA), according to Ari B. Pollack and Erik Newman with New Hampshire law office Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell. The CSPA establishes minimum standards for activities--including tree removal--along New Hampshire shorelines, reports the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Resources. The recent changes made to the CSPA included three important areas involving shoreline tree removal.

  1. New Permit Regulations

    • Developers looking to build near New Hampshire shorelines typically obtained permits through local municipalities before the changes by CSPA in 2008. New regulations require developers to obtain permits directly from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, say Pollack and Newman. New permit requests must also adhere to every new stipulation imposed in the CSPA. Shoreline protected under this act includes all land within 250 feet of the natural mean, or average, water level.

    Tree Score Regulations

    • Shoreline tree cutting before 2008 regulated tree removal to a percentage of trees standing. Pollack and Newman state that this method of percentage calculation proved cumbersome. New CSPA regulations measure tree height and girth (diameter) and apply these measurements to an indexed score. This new scoring method hopes to calculate and offset actual tree size differences and ensure that appropriate tree growth is allowed to remain in place. Minimum tree scores are required in 50-foot intervals.

    Tree Detritus Regulations

    • The new CSPA regulations also limit the removal of tree detritus or remains. To combat erosion, the new CSPA regulations require that all tree stumps and roots to remain in the ground upon tree cutting in protected shoreline wetland areas, state Pollack and Newman. Tree stump and roots are still able to combat the forces of erosion from surface rainwater runoff and the natural movement in bodies of water and hold valuable shoreline soil in place.

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