Home › Massachusetts › Tewksbury
Tree Service in Tewksbury, MA
Tewksbury warns that a road's right-of-way sometimes reaches more than 30 feet back from the pavement, so a tree that looks like part of your front yard can still belong to the town. Call (978) 698-4783 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Town rules explained
- Tewksbury Center to Silver Lake
Ask About Tree Service in Your Area
Say how close the tree is to the road or any wet ground. A person reads it and replies with what happens next.
Please add your name, a 10-digit phone number and a valid email.
Your request didn't go through on our end. Please call (978) 698-4783 so it isn't lost.
Too many requests have come from this connection in a short time. Please call (978) 698-4783 and we'll take it from there.
We couldn't finish the spam check. Wait a moment and send it again, or call (978) 698-4783.
Tree work in Tewksbury
Removals, pruning and cleanup around Tewksbury homes
Tree Removal
Dead, dying, leaning or simply unwanted trees, including the tight ones that have to come down in sections over a roof.
Pruning & Trimming
Deadwood out, limbs lifted off the roof and the service wire, and crowns thinned so the tree stands up to wind and snow.
Stump Grinding
Grinding the stump below grade so the spot can be seeded, planted or paved, with the chips hauled off or left as mulch.
Storm Damage & Emergency Work
Trees and big limbs on the house, the car or the driveway after wind, ice or a nor'easter, once the utility has made any wires safe.
Not sure what the job is?
(978) 698-4783Tell us roughly how far the tree stands from the street and whether there's a brook or swamp behind it; in Tewksbury both can change who has a say.
Town rules
Who decides about trees in Tewksbury
In Tewksbury, a tree in or at the edge of the road belongs to the town, and the Department of Public Works decides what happens to it: removing a public one means a Tree Warden hearing unless the Tree Warden finds it an imminent hazard (Tree Removal Process). Trees near wetlands also come before the Conservation Commission.
- Road trees
- DPW Highway & Forestry Division, 999 Whipple Road, 978-640-4440 (DPW)
- Counts as public
- At least 1.5 in. across, a foot above ground, in or on the edge of the right-of-way
- Wetland strip
- 25-ft No Disturb Zone and 50-ft No Build Zone in the bylaw text the town posts
- Burning
- January 15 to May 1 with a Fire Department permit, brush and tree trimmings only
- Branch pickup
- Designated weeks only; branches up to 4 in., bundles up to 3 ft
Public shade trees. The town's guidance treats a tree as public if it is at least 1.5 inches in diameter a foot off the ground and stands within or on the boundary of a public right-of-way; trees planted as shade trees within 20 feet of the right-of-way are protected too, and trees along a state highway are MassDOT's (Public Shade Tree Information). The right-of-way "can vary greatly" and sometimes runs more than 30 feet from the road (Tree Talk). Start with a DPW Public Service Request through the town's online portal; the Tree Warden then decides whether the tree is public or private.
When a resident asks for a removal. If the tree is public, a hearing is required. Hearings are typically Thursdays at 10 a.m., the requester pays for the newspaper notice that runs once a week for two weeks, and the Tree Warden posts notice on the tree and at DPW, Town Hall and the library. Written objections go to the Select Board for the final say. An approved Tree Removal Permit may require removing the stump, restoring the area or planting a replacement, and the town says to check with Community Development and the Police Department before work starts (Public Shade Tree Information). Police details are always required on certain listed roads, and on other roads when the work runs over 15 minutes, takes up a third of a travel lane, or creates a safety hazard (Tree Talk).
Cutting without permission. The town cites a fine of up to $500 plus damages for trimming or removing a public shade tree without authorization, and up to $50 for posting on or marking one (Public Shade Tree Information).
Private trees and scenic roads. We found no town rule for trees on private land; the town's Tree Talk document notes that the Planning Board or Conservation Commission may have rules depending on where a tree stands. We found no list of designated scenic roads on the town's website, though its 2006 master plan amendment records residents naming "mature trees along older roads" as scenic resources (master plan amendment).
Wetlands. The Conservation Commission administers a local Wetlands Protection Bylaw alongside the state act (Conservation Commission). The bylaw text the town posts sets a 100-foot buffer around wetlands, intermittent streams, ponds and banks and 200 feet around vernal pools, bars vegetation clearing and cutting within 25 feet of the resource area edge, and sets a 50-foot No Build Zone. Under the posted regulations, vista pruning is exempt only more than 50 feet from the resource area, and we found no exemption there for a homeowner's dead or hazardous tree. If you're unsure, a Request for Determination asks the Commission whether the work is regulated. The Building Department advises contacting the Conservation Department before any site work (Building Department).
Grinding and digging. State law treats digging, augering and grading as excavation and requires notice to Dig Safe at least 72 hours ahead, excluding weekends and legal holidays (M.G.L. c.82 §40A, definition of excavation, c.82 §40). Dig Safe suggests the hired contractor make the call (Dig Safe FAQs), so ask your tree company whether its work needs a ticket.
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by July 2027. New England Tree Service is a referral service. We don't cut trees, request hearings or file with the conservation commission.
Brush and burning
What happens to the wood in Tewksbury
Curbside yard waste. Leaves and branches are collected only in the designated weeks on the town calendar, set out by 7 a.m. on the Monday of that week. Branches must be tied in bundles, each branch no thicker than 4 inches and each bundle no more than 30 inches across and 3 feet long; barrels and bags are capped at 50 pounds, and plastic bags and grass clippings aren't taken (FY26 residential mailing). The same mailing lists no town drop-off, so agree with your tree company up front on chipping and hauling the trunk wood and big limbs from a removal.
Burning brush. The Fire Department issues an online season permit for $10. Burning is allowed from January 15 to May 1, brush and tree trimmings only, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with every fire out by 4 p.m.; on each burn day you call the Open Air Burning Information Line, 978-640-4419, with your address and permit number. Fires must be at least 75 feet from buildings and 30 feet from electric or gas easements, attended by an adult, and lit without liquid starters. Stumps, leaves, grass and commercial land-clearing debris can't be burned (Open Air Burning Permit Information).
Trees as part of the town's character. The Forestry Division describes a "proactive maintenance program" meant to keep Tewksbury's "green character" while removing hazardous trees (Highway & Forestry Division). The state's 1980 survey describes a glacial outwash plain with sandy-to-gravelly soils, large bogs and swamps including the Great Swamp, and the Shawsheen River along the east side (MHC town survey).
Around town
Tewksbury's older settlement areas
The 2006 master plan amendment counted more than 900 houses built before 1939, about 9% of the town's homes (master plan amendment). The state's survey names the places where the town first grew (MHC town survey).
Tewksbury Center
The old village common on Main Street.
North Tewksbury
The settlement along Andover Street, Route 133.
Wamesit
A village that grew up at a rail junction.
Silver Lake
A cottage colony from the late 1800s.
FAQ
Tewksbury tree questions
How small does a roadside tree have to be before the town ignores it?
Very small. Tewksbury counts any tree at least 1.5 inches across, measured a foot above the ground, as a public shade tree if it stands in or on the edge of the public right-of-way. Where the line can't be found, the tree is treated as public until shown otherwise.
If I want a town tree removed, who pays for the hearing notice?
You do. Under the town's process the person asking pays for the newspaper notice, which runs once a week for two weeks with text supplied by the Tree Warden. Hearings are usually Thursdays at 10 a.m., and an approved permit can require stump removal or a replacement tree.
Can I cut trees near a brook or swamp on my lot?
Not without checking with the Conservation Commission. The wetland bylaw text the town posts sets a 25-foot No Disturb Zone where cutting and vegetation clearing are prohibited, and it counts cutting trees as altering a resource area. Anyone can file a Request for Determination to ask whether a job is regulated.
Will the town pick up the branches?
Only in its designated yard waste weeks, and only small material: branches up to 4 inches across, tied in bundles no longer than 3 feet. A large removal usually needs the tree company to chip and haul the wood.
What does it cost me to use New England Tree Service?
Nothing. The request and the referral are free; the tree company prices the work.
Nearby