Tree service in Eugene, Oregon

Tree removal permits in Eugene

Eugene’s tree permit is about volume and lot size, not individual trees. Under Eugene Code 6.305, you need a permit to fell more than five trees in 12 months on a parcel of 20,000 square feet or more, and Administrative Rule R-6.305 counts any tree of 8 inches DBH or larger. Parcels under 20,000 square feet with a house on them are exempt under EC 6.330; vacant lots are not. The fee sheet runs from $152.07 for 1 to 10 trees ($305.25 with public notice) to $991.23 for 51 to 100, and more than 10 trees requires a logging plan.

For most homeowners the rule never applies, but street trees always do: none may be removed without City Manager approval, and the city can require a replacement or a payment based on ISA valuation. A permit may also be conditioned on replanting. If you own an acre or more of wooded land and plan to thin it, call Planning’s Land Use staff at 541-682-8336 first. The Oregon permit guide compares other cities.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Oregon.

Source: Planning (Land Use staff, 541-682-8336) acting for the City Manager (EC 6.310), Eugene Code 6.300-6.330 (6.305, 6.310, 6.320, 6.330); Admin Rule R-6.305; EC 9.6885. Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for Lane County (covers Eugene)

Wind dominates the record in Lane County, which ranks 2nd of Oregon’s 36 counties with 249 NOAA storm reports since 2016. High wind alone accounts for 122 of them, nearly half, ahead of 53 heavy-snow and 22 wildfire reports. Much of that wind blows on the coast and Coast Range, since the county reaches from the Central Oregon coast to the Cascades.

For Eugene in the valley, FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) points elsewhere: it rates winter weather Relatively High at 87.0 and ice storms at 83.2, against 57.3 for strong wind. Seventy percent of reports fall between November and February, peaking in January. The count has dropped from 94 in the prior three years to 63 in the latest three.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Cascades of Lane County; Central Coast of Oregon; Central Oregon Coast Range; Central Oregon Coast Range Lowlands; Lane County Cascade Foothills; Lane County Lowlands.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026 · NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions). Checked 2026-10-02. NOAA Storm Events 2016-2026; zone-based events assigned to every county the NWS zone covers using the zone-county correlation file in force on the event date (2019-04-02 file used for 2016-2018).

Power lines and utilities in Eugene

The Eugene Water & Electric Board is Eugene’s electric utility. EWEB maintains clearances around its own lines and equipment, while telecom companies are responsible for theirs, and it does not say who prunes the service drop, so ask before cutting near it. Its guidance asks for 3 feet between woody plants and poles, 6 feet clear in front of a pad transformer’s opening, and trees no taller than 25 feet at maturity beneath lines.

EWEB’s tree trimming FAQ adds that its crews work pole to pole and do not trim the line from the pole to the house; the details, request numbers and the 2026 telecom-space change are on our EWEB tree trimming page.

Outages go to 1-844-484-2300, and a downed line is a 911 call. See the utility directory.

Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; OAR 437-002-0306 (OR-OSHA). Checked 2026-10-02.

Rain, snow and the growing season in Eugene

Eugene is in USDA hardiness zone 8b, and NOAA’s normals at Mahlon Sweet airport show 40.83 inches of precipitation a year, wettest in December. Several local utilities recommend trees that top out under 25 feet anywhere near a line, which is the simplest replanting rule here. Where a street tree is replaced as a permit condition, the city sets the terms.

Eugene Mahlon Sweet Ap, Or Us: 40.8 in of precipitation a year, wettest in December. USDA hardiness zone 8b.

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020 · USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.

Labor index for Eugene

BLS puts tree trimmers and pruners in the Eugene-Springfield metro at a $33.56 mean and $32.83 median hourly wage, among roughly 50 workers. A workforce that small fills up quickly after a January snow or ice event. It is a wage, not a price: the modeled ranges on the service pages build in crew size, gear and disposal.

Eugene-Springfield, OR: $33.56 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025). This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $225 (method).

163 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Lane County in 2023 (Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 561730).

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013 · U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561730. Checked 2026-10-02.

ZIP codes and nearby cities

Eugene spans ZIP codes 97401, 97402, 97403, 97404, 97405 and 97408. Springfield is 7 miles away and has its own utility and its own rules; Lebanon is 34 miles, Corvallis 36 and Albany 39. County-level data is on the Lane County page.

ZIP codes with the most land inside Eugene: 974029740597401974049740897403

• Springfield7 miles
• Lebanon34 miles
• Corvallis36 miles
• Albany39 miles

County page: Lane County.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA to place and county relationship files. Checked 2026-10-02.

Tree services in Eugene

The pages below apply Eugene’s rules job by job. Removal covers the five-tree count and street tree approval; trimming covers the clearance rules of whichever of the six utilities serves you; stump grinding starts with an 811 locate; and the emergency page deals with snow, ice and the rare valley windstorm.

• Tree removal in Eugene
• Tree trimming in Eugene
• Stump grinding in Eugene
• Emergency tree service in Eugene
• Arborists and tree health
• Check a license in Oregon
• EWEB tree trimming

What to do next

Count before you cut: on a lot of 20,000 square feet or more, a sixth tree of 8 inches DBH in 12 months triggers a permit, and any street tree needs City Manager approval. Identify your utility before trimming near a line. Order a risk assessment for ice-cracked limbs, and look up the contractor in the Oregon license lookup.