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Tree Service in Nashua, NH
Cut or badly damage trees in one of Nashua's protected wetland buffers without approval and the Land Use Code requires them to be replaced with equivalent trees (Land Use Code §190-117). Call (978) 698-4783 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Insurance checked first
- Every Nashua neighborhood
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Tree work in Nashua
Tree jobs on Nashua lots, from city streets to wet back lines
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 tree needs?
(978) 698-4783Tell us how far the tree is from any wetland or brook and from the wire to the house. In Nashua those two answers decide most of the paperwork.
Rules and permits
Who decides about trees in Nashua
For a tree in a Nashua yard, the rules with teeth are the city's wetland buffers. We found no trees chapter in the city code, no city forestry office and no city permit for cutting a private tree; the Division of Public Works, its Street Department and Parks and Recreation are the departments listed for streets and parks (city directory). Burning goes through the Fire Department, and the wire to the house through Eversource.
- Private trees
- No city tree permit found; wetland buffers apply
- Primary wetland buffer
- 75 ft; vernal pools at least 100 ft
- Trees cut in a buffer
- Without approval: replace with equivalent trees
- Brush over 3 in.
- Four Hills Landfill, 840 W. Hollis St.; no large stumps
- Burning
- Fire Department permit; online for small ring fires, site visit for larger ones
Wetland buffers. Nashua's Land Use Code sets buffers by wetland type: 75 feet for primary wetlands, 40 feet for critical wetlands and for other wetlands over 9,000 square feet, 20 feet for wetlands of 3,000 to 9,000 square feet and for intermittent streams, and at least 100 feet for vernal pools. Any use, building, structure or development in a wetland or its buffer needs a wetlands special exception, which the Conservation Commission reviews and recommends on before the Zoning Board of Adjustment decides (wetland buffer table, wetlands article).
When trees come out of a buffer without approval. Section 190-117 requires replacing trees that were unlawfully removed or substantially damaged in a protected buffer with equivalent trees (§190-117). If a tree near a wet area has to go, talk to the city before it's cut, not after.
Scenic roads. New Hampshire lets town meeting designate local roads as scenic; once that happens, the town, the state and utilities can't cut trees 15 inches or more around for road or utility work without the planning board's written consent after a hearing (RSA 231:158). We found no list of designated scenic roads on the city's site.
Big cuts and the timber tax. State law requires an owner to file a notice of intent to cut before each cutting operation, but exempts up to 30 cords of firewood for the owner's own use and up to 15,000 board feet of logs for the owner's own buildings (RSA 79). Selling logs or clearing a larger woodlot means filing form PA-7 with the city first (NH timber tax).
Grinding and digging. New Hampshire's Dig Safe law lists "tree and root removal" in its definition of excavation, and notice is due at least 72 hours ahead, weekends and legal holidays excluded, for digging within 100 feet of an underground line (RSA 374:48 and 374:51). A ticket is free through 811 or online (Dig Safe); ask the tree company whether your stump job gets one.
Wires. Eversource delivers Nashua's electricity, with Nashua Community Power as the default supplier (NHES Nashua profile, Nashua Community Power). For tree work, Eversource is the one to call: it trims to 8 feet at the sides, 10 below and 15 above its lines on a four-to-five-year cycle, may remove branches rubbing the service drop at no charge, and will temporarily disconnect the pole-to-house lines so your tree contractor can work. Limbs over the house or driveway are the owner's cost (Eversource NH tree FAQ).
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by January 2027. New England Tree Service is a referral service. We don't cut trees, apply for permits or appear before city boards.
Brush, burning and disposal
Getting rid of the wood in Nashua
Curbside: twigs and small brush only. The 2026 soft yard waste season started the week of April 20 and runs into late fall, collecting leaves, clippings, needles and twigs under an inch thick in paper bags or 32-gallon barrels of up to 60 pounds. Brush from 1 to 3 inches thick has to be cut, tied and bundled, no more than 4 feet long and 60 pounds, and goes out by special pickup during the bulk period, five bundles a year at most; call 589-3410 by Friday to schedule. Cut bushes and limbs over 3 inches go to the landfill (Soft Yard Waste).
Four Hills Landfill. The Nashua Recycling Center at Four Hills, 840 West Hollis Street, takes brush and soft yard waste free, weekdays 8 to 4 and Saturdays 8 to 1, with a $5 yearly resident vehicle permit that's waived at 65 and over (Nashua Recycling Center). Large tree stumps are not accepted (What's Accepted), so after a removal the stump is usually ground in place or hauled off by the tree company.
Burning brush. Chapter 110 of the city code bars any open fire without Fire Department approval, given only when the chief or a deputy finds no danger to public safety. Applications are due 24 hours ahead, fires are allowed from dawn to dusk only and must be out before dusk, and burning vegetation is the exception to the ban on burning rubbish (Chapter 110). The city's online system issues Category 1 permits for ring fires up to 2 feet; Category 2 fires up to 4 feet and Category 3 fires, such as an uncontained brush pile, need a site visit. Setbacks are 25 feet for Category 1 and 50 feet for the larger ones, from houses, decks, sheds, fences and pools. Category 1 and 2 permits run through December 31, but a Category 3 permit expires at midnight on the day it's issued. Tenants need the owner's written permission, each burn is logged, and dispatch at 603-594-3636 can tell you about restrictions at your address (Nashua burn permits). State fire permit rules allow only brush and untreated wood up to 5 inches thick on the fire, and set evening hours for fires over 2 feet across (NH fire permits); since the city ordinance says dawn to dusk, ask the Fire Department which hours your permit allows.
Firewood and pests. Bringing firewood into New Hampshire from out of state requires a compliance agreement under the state's firewood rules (firewood quarantine), so wood from a Nashua tree is best used or chipped close to home. Suspected tree pests can be reported through NHBugs.org.
FAQ
Nashua tree questions
Does Nashua require a permit to take down a tree in my yard?
We found no city permit for removing a tree on private land. The exception is a wetland and its buffer: any use or development there needs a wetlands special exception, and a tree removed or badly damaged without approval has to be replaced.
How wide are Nashua's wetland buffers?
The Land Use Code sets 75 feet for primary wetlands, 40 feet for critical wetlands and for other wetlands over 9,000 square feet, 20 feet for wetlands of 3,000 to 9,000 square feet and intermittent streams, and at least 100 feet for vernal pools. Work in a buffer goes to the Conservation Commission for a recommendation and then to the Zoning Board.
What do I do with the limbs and the stump?
Brush 1 to 3 inches thick, tied in bundles no longer than 4 feet and no heavier than 60 pounds, can go out by special pickup, up to five bundles a year during the bulk period; call 589-3410 by Friday. Limbs over 3 inches go to the Four Hills Landfill recycling center, which takes brush free with a resident permit but doesn't accept large tree stumps.
Can I burn brush in Nashua?
Only with Fire Department approval. Small ring fires can be permitted online; anything up to 4 feet, or an uncontained brush fire, needs a site visit, and that larger permit runs out at midnight the day it's issued. The city ordinance allows open fires only between dawn and dusk.
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.