Cities use these three names differently, and most land-development projects need more than one. Here is what each tree plan does, when your jurisdiction asks for it, and what we hand you. Not sure? Send us the site and the ordinance, free, and we will tell you exactly which you need.
| Tree protection | Tree preservation | Tree mitigation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Protecting the trees you keep, during construction. | Deciding which trees stay or go, and proving it. | The math for the trees you remove. |
| When your city asks for it | Before a permit, to show existing trees are fenced and safeguarded through construction. | When the review turns on a tree inventory and keep-or-remove decisions. | When removals trigger replacement credits or a fee-in-lieu payment. |
| What we hand you | Tree-protection zones, critical-root-zone fencing, protection notes and details, on a clean CAD-ready sheet. | An existing-tree inventory, save and remove decisions, and the canopy or caliper accounting your reviewer follows. | The required replacement credits, suggested species and quantities to meet the ordinance without fee-in-lieu where possible, and the reviewer’s table. Calculations, not a drawn planting plan; your team places the trees. |
| Often needed with | A preservation plan, and sometimes mitigation. | The protection set it is often folded into. | A protection or preservation plan on the same project. |
| Learn more | Tree protection plans | Tree preservation plans | Tree mitigation plans |
The short version: protection and preservation are about the trees you keep; mitigation is the math for the trees you remove. Plenty of projects need two or three of these in one submittal. We produce whichever your code calls for; your licensed professional reviews, seals, and submits.
They overlap, and cities use the names differently. A preservation plan leans on the inventory and the keep-or-remove decisions; a protection plan leans on how the trees you keep are fenced and safeguarded during construction. Many projects need both, often in one set.
Preservation is about the trees you keep and the decisions behind them. Mitigation is the accounting for the trees you remove: the replacement credits (caliper-inches or tree counts) and any fee-in-lieu, reconciled to your ordinance. Projects that remove protected trees usually need both.
Sometimes. It depends on your site and your jurisdiction’s ordinance. A project that keeps most of its trees may only need protection; one that clears protected trees may need preservation and mitigation too. Send us the site and the ordinance and we will tell you exactly which, free.
The quickest way to know is to let us look. Your free first analysis is a bounded sample on one real, active site: we scope which plan or plans your city requires and show you the quality before you commit.
Tell us about one real, active site. We will come back within a business day to scope your free first analysis, and tell you exactly which tree plan or plans it needs.