Tree service in The Dalles, Oregon

Tree removal permits in The Dalles

Chapter 11.20 of The Dalles Municipal Code regulates trees in public parking strips and parkways, not trees on private lots, so removing a tree in your yard needs no city permit. Private trees do carry one obligation: 11.20.020 requires limbs to clear 9 feet over a sidewalk and 14 feet over a street, and 11.20.050 sets fines of up to $250 per violation. The city requires no contractor registration.

The parking strip belongs to the Public Works Director. Planting or removing a tree there, or in any public place, needs the Director’s permission under 11.20.010, which also keeps a prohibited species list. The Land Use and Development Ordinance was not checked for development-site tree rules, so if the removal is part of a building project, ask Public Works. The Oregon permit guide covers other cities.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Oregon.

Source: Public Works Director (11.20.010, 11.20.040), The Dalles Municipal Code 11.20.010, 11.20.020, 11.20.040, 11.20.050 (Street Trees). Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for Wasco County (covers The Dalles)

Heavy snow makes up more than half of Wasco County’s storm record: 79 of the 145 reports NOAA logged. High wind adds 28 and wildfire 21, and the county ranks 14th of Oregon’s 36. Sixty-six percent of reports fall between November and February, with February, January and December as the peaks, and the count has eased to 30 in the latest three years from 47 in the three before.

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) reads differently from the storm log. It rates wind Very Low (15.1) but ice Relatively High (84.2) and wildfire Relatively High at 98.1, so the trees that matter most are the ones holding snow over a roof and the ones close enough to a house to carry fire to it.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: East Columbia River Gorge; East Slopes of the Oregon Cascades; John Day Basin; North Central Oregon.

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 The Dalles

No electric utility is mapped for The Dalles in this site’s data yet; the utility directory lists the providers that are, and your bill names yours. A tree touching a line is the utility’s to clear first. The city’s 14-foot street and 9-foot sidewalk clearances are a separate duty from anything the utility asks, and tree removal near power lines explains where an owner’s work has to stop.

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

Growing conditions in The Dalles

The Dalles is in USDA hardiness zone 7b. Before planting in a parking strip, check the prohibited species list in 11.20.010 and get the Public Works Director’s permission. In the yard, the wildfire score of 98.1 argues for spacing and species that keep flammable crowns off the house, as laid out in the defensible-space guide, and 79 heavy-snow reports argue for strong branch unions.

USDA hardiness zone 7b (2023 map, by ZIP code).

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.

Labor index for The Dalles

No metro wage estimate is published for The Dalles, so BLS’s Oregon statewide figure stands in: a $35.40 mean and $36.27 median hourly wage for tree trimmers and pruners, from about 1,610 workers. The number describes pay rather than a price. A bid adds the truck, chipper, disposal and insurance, which is what the modeled ranges on the service pages account for.

Oregon statewide: $35.40 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025); no metro estimate is published, so the statewide figure is shown. This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $225 (method).

16 landscaping-services establishments were counted in Wasco 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

The Dalles uses ZIP code 97058, and no other city with a page here is listed as a neighbor, so the county and state rules are the next layer up, including Oregon DEQ’s yard debris burning rules. Countywide storm and hazard data is on the Wasco County page.

ZIP codes with the most land inside The Dalles: 97058

County page: Wasco County.

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

Tree services in The Dalles

The service pages below apply The Dalles’s rules. Removal is simple on a private lot and needs the Director’s permission in a parking strip; trimming is where the 9 and 14-foot clearances and the $250 fine apply; stump grinding needs an 811 locate; and the emergency page covers long snow spells like January 2022.

• Tree removal (statewide guide)
• Tree trimming (statewide guide)
• Stump grinding (statewide guide)
• Emergency tree service (statewide guide)
• Arborists and tree health
• Check a license in Oregon

What to do next

Check whether the tree stands in the parking strip: if so, get the Public Works Director’s permission first; if not, no permit is needed. Measure clearance over the sidewalk and street while you are out there. A snow-damaged top calls for a risk assessment, and the Oregon license lookup confirms a company before you pay anything.