Call to Action: Put Tree Protection Bylaws on Your Community and Neighbourhood Agenda!
Trees Please is concerned that the public and private tree bylaws recommended in the 20-year Urban Forestry Strategy are being delayed by the Standing Policy Committee on Community Services and council as a whole.
While our public trees should be protected, the vast majority of Winnipeg’s canopy sits on private land without any protection.
Our concern is that without a private tree bylaw we will lose more trees than we are currently planting and that the canopy target set in the strategy – to increase canopy cover from 17% to 24% – will not be met.
Numerous other municipalities in Canada have both public and private tree bylaws and Winnipeg is lagging behind! See our latest “Fast Facts” document for more info.
We’re asking you to help us put the public/private tree bylaw back on the city agenda for 2025. As part of that effort we’re encouraging you and your community or residents’ group to share this information with your members and ask them to support bylaws that protect both our public and private trees.
📅 There will also be an opportunity for you to write a submission or speak to the bylaw issue at the Dec. 2, 2025 meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Community Services. The more people writing submissions and speaking, the better!
Here are some facts you can use to encourage support:
💲 The trees on your property save you money and are worth protecting: According to the US Dept. of Energy the right tree in the right place on your property can save you up to 25% on your heating and cooling costs.
🏠 The trees on your property increase the resale value of your house: Studies suggest that properties with well-maintained trees can see an increase in value by as much as 3% to 19%.
🪓 A private tree bylaw will not impinge on your right to remove a tree on your property that is dying or which poses a hazard to you or the structures and buildings on your property.
🌳 All healthy mature trees on your property that pose no hazard will be protected by the new bylaw: Removing healthy mature trees on your property without a permit will likely result in a fine, not unlike the fines issued for renovations done “off permit.”
👷♂️ Most importantly, a private tree bylaw will regulate tree removal on private property destined for development: Winnipeg is losing thousands of mature tree as a result of construction and development and currently builders and developers are not required to replace those trees, nor are they required to pay the city for the benefits lost as a result of their removal. A private tree bylaw would change that.
Do you think we need a meeting of all Trees Please member groups to discuss this issue and meet with the Winnipeg’s Chief Forester to hear her views on tree bylaws? Let us know and we’ll do our best to make it happen!!
Thank you for considering this and please reach out to Trees Please if you have questions or concerns. You can send us an email at treespleasecoalition@gmail.com, or message us on our Facebook page.