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Tree Service in Windham, NH
Windham's Wetland and Watershed Protection District reaches 150 feet from Beaver, Golden and Flat Rock Brooks and 100 feet from other brooks, ponds and wetlands of an acre or more (Windham Zoning Ordinance). 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
- Cobbetts Pond to Canobie Lake
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Tree work in Windham
Tree jobs between Windham's brooks and ponds
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) 698-4783Mention the nearest brook, pond or wetland and whether the ground slopes toward it. Windham's protection district is measured from all three.
Rules and permits
Who decides about trees in Windham
We found no tree warden or tree page on windhamnh.gov (site map). The rules that matter most for tree work sit in the zoning ordinance, where the Planning Board and Conservation Commission handle the wetland district and the pond watersheds, while the Highway Department controls work in the town right-of-way.
- Wetland district
- 25 to 150 ft depending on the water; stump removal for construction needs a special permit
- Watershed overlay
- At development sites, grading and vegetation removal are minimized
- Town right-of-way
- Highway Department, (603) 216-5676; permit for clearing or digging
- Yard waste
- Brush up to 8 in. thick and 4 ft long, set Saturdays
- Burning
- Annual permit from Windham Fire; notify the station before each burn
The Wetland and Watershed Protection District. Section 601 of the zoning ordinance sets the district at 150 feet from Beaver, Golden and Flat Rock Brooks; 100 feet from other brooks, streams, ponds and wetlands of one acre or more; 50 feet from wetlands over half an acre; and 25 feet from smaller wetlands, adding 100 feet where slopes reach 12% or more. Under §601.4.8, "excavation, filling, drainage, stump removal" or other changes to the surface of the land needed for construction takes a Planning Board special permit after a hearing, with referral to the Conservation Commission (Zoning Ordinance). If a removal is part of a building project near water, pulling the stumps is the step that brings the Planning Board in.
Cobbetts Pond and Canobie Lake. In the town's Watershed Protection Overlay District, the Minor WPOD application's review criteria call for grading and removal of vegetation at a development site to be minimized, and the application carries a $25 fee (Minor WPOD application). Lots within 250 feet of a lake or pond over 10 acres also fall under the state shoreland law (RSA 483-B:4), whose first 50 feet is a points-scored buffer where stumps stay in the ground unless NHDES approves removal (RSA 483-B:9).
Working in the right-of-way. The Highway Department is at 2 Ledge Road, Unit 2, (603) 216-5676, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Highway Department). It doesn't repair or replace landscaping and other objects in the town right-of-way, and doesn't maintain private or state roads (Services Not Provided). The town's Right of Way Activity Permit covers construction, excavation, clearing or dredging in the right-of-way, costs $1.50 per linear foot with a $100 minimum, and asks for a Dig Safe ticket number and an insurance certificate (Right of Way Activity Permit). The form doesn't mention tree cutting, so ask Highway before a crew works on a tree at the road edge.
Sight lines and stone walls. Fences, hedges and trees may not block the view where a driveway meets a public way, and on corner lots nothing over 3 feet is allowed in the 25-foot sight triangle (fence permit application). Windham has several historic districts, where the Historic District/Heritage Commission issues certificates of appropriateness, though not for individual residences; its sites include the stone walls at Searles School and Chapel and the Dinsmore stone wall and tower (Historic District/Heritage Commission, Windham Historic Districts). We found no designated scenic roads on the town site; under state law, a scenic road designation limits tree cutting by road and utility crews, not by owners on their own land (RSA 231:158).
Two utilities. The town's services list names Eversource, and Liberty for limited areas (Local Services Links). Eversource keeps limbs out of a zone 8 feet to the side, 10 feet below and 15 feet above its lines on a four-to-five-year cycle. It will temporarily disconnect the pole-to-house lines when you hire your own tree contractor, may remove branches rubbing the service wires at no charge, and leaves the wood with the owner (Eversource NH tree FAQ). Liberty says tree removal near its lines is the owner's or contractor's job and requires disconnecting service (Liberty vegetation maintenance).
Dig Safe. The state's definition of excavation includes "tree and root removal," and notice is required at least 72 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays, for digging within 100 feet of an underground facility (RSA 374:48 and 374:51). Tickets are free through 811 (Dig Safe).
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by May 2027. New England Tree Service is a referral service. We don't cut trees, issue burn permits or apply for special permits.
Brush, burning and the Town Forest
Brush, firewood and Windham's town woods
The yard waste site. Windham's Yard Waste Program runs on the former landfill at 39 Marblehead Road under the Highway Department. It takes leaves, grass, wood chips and mulch, and brush up to 4 feet long and 8 inches in diameter, but no invasive plants, plastic bags or trash, and the material is composted or made into loam for public use. From April through October it opens the second and fourth Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; in November it opens the second and third Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., subject to change for weather and holidays (Yard Waste Program). An 8-inch limit takes more of a pruning job than many towns allow, but trunks and stumps still need another plan. The Transfer Station at 2 Ledge Road is open Wednesday to Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on a free resident sticker (Transfer Station). We found no curbside brush pickup.
Burn permits. Windham Fire, 3 Fellows Road, 603-434-4907, issues permits annually on request to property owners, or to tenants over 18 with the owner's written permission. Only clean combustibles go on the fire, meaning wood and brush under 5 inches in diameter. Category II and III fires may burn only from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. unless it's raining, they need 50 feet from structures (25 feet for a small Category I fire), and you notify the station before each burn (Burning Permits). The town's online request link leads to the state's permit system (Request a Burn Permit).
The Town Forest. The Forestry Committee, formed in 2014, oversees one Town Forest of six parcels near Bayberry Road, "approximately 201.4 acres," managed for recreation, wildlife, soil and water, and sustainable timber (Forestry Committee). The forest stewardship plan posted for it dates from 2012 and covered a ten-year period starting in 2013. It describes 203.2 acres across the Lord, Stolarz and Bayberry lots, with white pine-oak, mixed oak and mixed hardwood stands and red maple wetlands, and recommends selection thinning and shelterwood cuts, mainly to remove poor-quality black oak (2012 Forest Stewardship Plan). The town's ecological inventory, from November 2024, covers conservation land such as Ashton Woods, Campbell Farm, Clyde Pond and the Gage Lands, Deer Leap and Foster's Pond (Windham's Ecological Inventory).
Beech trees. The town hasn't flagged a pest on its site, but the 2024 New Hampshire forest health update found beech leaf disease in nearly every town in southern New Hampshire (2024 NH forest health update). Report anything unusual through NHBugs.org, and buy firewood locally: firewood brought in from out of state requires a compliance agreement (firewood quarantine).
FAQ
Windham tree questions
How far from a wetland do Windham's rules reach?
The Wetland and Watershed Protection District runs 150 feet from Beaver, Golden and Flat Rock Brooks; 100 feet from other brooks, streams, ponds and wetlands of an acre or more; 50 feet from wetlands over half an acre; and 25 feet from smaller ones. On slopes of 12% or more it widens by another 100 feet.
Will the town take big branches?
The Yard Waste Program at 39 Marblehead Road takes brush up to 8 inches in diameter and 4 feet long, with no invasive plants, plastic bags or trash. It opens on set Saturdays only; in November the town lists the second and third Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., subject to change for weather and holidays
Do I need a new burn permit for every fire?
No. Windham Fire issues permits annually on request to property owners, or to tenants over 18 with the owner's written permission, but you notify the station before each burn. Brush must be under 5 inches in diameter, and brush piles may burn only from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. unless it is raining.
Which power company do I call before tree work near the lines?
The town lists Eversource, and Liberty in limited areas, so check your bill. Eversource will temporarily disconnect the wires from the pole to your house when you hire your own tree contractor; Liberty says removal near its lines requires disconnecting service.
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.
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