
Tree Service in Madison, WI
ISA Certified Arborists serving Madison and the surrounding communities. Removal, trimming, stump grinding, and 24/7 emergency response — every estimate walked by a certified arborist, not a salesperson.
Professional tree care for Madison properties.

Tree Removal
Safe, efficient removal for residential and commercial properties — small ornamentals through heritage oaks.
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Tree Trimming & Pruning
ANSI A300 structural pruning and maintenance to keep trees healthy, strong, and safe long-term.
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Stump Grinding
Complete stump grinding to 6 inches below grade. We leave your yard spotless and ready for landscaping.
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Arborist Services
Diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment plans from ISA Certified Arborists — not a commission salesperson.
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Emergency & Storm Response
24/7 response for storm damage, fallen trees, trees on structures, and hazardous situations.
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Commercial Services
Tree care programs for commercial properties, HOAs, municipalities, and property managers.
Learn moreTree Care in Madison, Dane County
Madison is the largest city in our service area and has an urban forest that's both celebrated and under pressure. The isthmus neighborhoods between lakes Mendota and Monona — Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Williamson-Marquette — have some of the densest mature street trees in the state, and also some of the most constrained work sites: tight lots, minimal drop zones, and heavy parking conflicts that make rigging the only option.
Dane County was one of the first Wisconsin counties to see emerald ash borer at landscape scale, and the ripple effects are still playing out. We've removed hundreds of dead and dying ash on Madison's near-west side and in the Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather corridor. Newer suburban developments out by Epic and the west-side medical corridor tend to have younger, healthier trees that benefit most from early structural pruning before problems develop.
What We Do in Madison
Isthmus work is almost always rigging-heavy; we see a lot of EAB-driven ash removal west and south; UW-area rentals often want absentee-friendly scheduling. We're a family-owned, ISA Certified Arborist team based in Janesville — Jason James (WI-1418A) and Andrew — and every estimate in Madison is walked by a certified arborist, not a commission salesperson. Every job carries $2M liability insurance and workers comp.
Common services we deliver in Madison:
- Tree removal — scheduled or emergency, small ornamentals through heritage oaks
- Tree trimming & structural pruning — ANSI A300 compliant, not topping
- Stump grinding — ground to 6 inches below grade
- 24/7 emergency response — see our emergency guide for what to do first
- ISA Certified Arborist consultation — diagnosis, risk assessment, preservation planning
What tree care looks like in Madison, beyond the basics.
Madison's tree work splits sharply by neighborhood. The isthmus packs century-old canopy onto 35-foot-wide lots between Lakes Mendota and Monona, where wind funneling produces failure rates higher than surrounding Dane County. The west side and the village neighborhoods of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills hold estate-grade specimens — heritage oaks and beeches worth tens of thousands of dollars individually, the kind of trees that need TRAQ-level risk management, not chainsaw work. We dispatch from our Madison office at 2909 Landmark Pl, so most jobs see same-week scheduling.
Madison is genuinely three cities at once when you're managing trees. The isthmus and near-east neighborhoods — Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Schenk-Atwood, Williamson — are where the housing stock is oldest, the lots are tightest, and the canopy is most exposed to the wind corridor that runs between the lakes. Properties along Lake Mendota's south shore and the Williamson Street corridor see consistent storm clusters: silver maples and willows fail first, mature oaks tolerate the wind better but lose limbs.
The west side tells a different story. University Heights, Vilas, Westmorland, and Nakoma have deeper lots, more setback from the wind, and tree work that's mostly about preservation rather than replacement — the oaks and beeches in those neighborhoods are 80 to 120 years old and worth keeping alive. The villages of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills push that even further: their tree boards and forestry programs reflect properties where a single specimen tree can be a five-figure asset.
Across all of Madison, the disease pressure is constant. Oak wilt has been confirmed throughout Dane County for over a decade, with active infection centers we work around every season — the April-through-October pruning ban for oaks is non-negotiable on Madison properties. Emerald ash borer arrived in Dane County in the early 2010s and is now the default assumption: every untreated ash on a Madison property is on a clock. Two-lined chestnut borer takes the oaks that are already stressed by drought or construction. Bur oak blight is increasingly visible in the wooded west side.
The permit and jurisdiction layer complicates everything. The City of Madison Forestry Division manages terrace trees (the strip between sidewalk and street) for most of the city — work on those trees needs a permit through Forestry. Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills are independent villages with their own tree ordinances and their own foresters. Historic districts (University Heights and the Mansion Hill area, among others) have additional preservation considerations. Our crews handle permit research and jurisdiction coordination on every Madison-area job — it's part of what same-week scheduling from a local office actually means.
Tree pressure unique to Madison
Oak wilt pressure is significant across Dane County, particularly in oak-heavy neighborhoods like the UW campus area, University Heights, and Maple Bluff. The isthmus wind corridor between the lakes produces wind speeds that devastate silver maples, willows, and Bradford pears in storm clusters. Emerald ash borer has been confirmed throughout Dane County since the early 2010s — every untreated ash is on borrowed time. Two-lined chestnut borer hits oaks already stressed by drought or construction damage.
Utility coordination
MGE (Madison Gas and Electric) for most of Dane County; we coordinate trim-back schedules and utility-line work directly with their forestry team.
Permits and Madison forestry coordination
City of Madison Forestry Division has jurisdiction over terrace trees (the strip between sidewalk and street) — work on public trees requires a permit issued through the City. The independent villages of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills each have their own tree boards and ordinances on top of City rules. Properties in University Heights and other historic districts may face preservation review for tree work that affects the historic context. Pruning trees on purely private property within Madison generally doesn't require a permit.
Neighborhoods and areas we serve in Madison
Isthmus (Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Schenk-Atwood)
Tight lots, century-old canopy, isthmus wind corridor
University Heights→
Historic district, heritage elms and oaks 100+ years old
Vilas & Dudgeon-Monroe
Mature canopy adjacent to UW Arboretum and Vilas Park
Maple Bluff→
Independent village on Lake Mendota, estate properties, village forester
Shorewood Hills→
Independent village west of UW, tree ordinance, estate canopy
Nakoma & Westmorland
Dense oak and maple canopy on west-side residential lots
Near East & Atwood
Storm-vulnerable silver maples and willows along the lakes
Middleton, Fitchburg, Verona, Sun Prairie, McFarland
Suburban Dane County coverage from the same Madison office
Recent Projects from Our Crews
A look at recent tree work across Southern Wisconsin. Every job is walked by an ISA Certified Arborist before we start.






Tree service in Madison — common questions.
How fast can you respond to emergencies in Madison?
We offer 24/7 emergency response for Madison and all of Southern Wisconsin. Our crews are typically on-site within a few hours for urgent storm damage, fallen trees, or hazardous situations near structures. Call (608) 751-4171 any time — a real person, or our AI phone assistant, will route you immediately.
Are your arborists ISA Certified?
Yes. Every estimate in Madison is walked by an ISA Certified Arborist — Jason James (WI-1418A) or Andrew — not a commission salesperson. We're also TCIA Accredited and carry $2 million in liability insurance plus full workers compensation on every crew.
Do you offer free estimates in Madison?
Yes — estimates are always free. You can request one by phone at (608) 751-4171, through our online contact form, or via our AI phone assistant, which will text you a self-scheduling link within minutes so you can pick a time that works for you.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Madison?
For trees on private property, most Madison-area jurisdictions don't require permits for tree removal. Trees in the public right-of-way (the strip between sidewalk and street, or boulevard trees) are typically managed by the local public works or forestry department and require coordination before any work. Properties in historic districts, HOA-governed neighborhoods, or specific platted subdivisions may have additional restrictions. We handle all permit research and city coordination as part of our service.
Do you work on both residential and commercial properties in Madison?
Yes. We handle single-tree removals, full property clearing, HOA and municipal maintenance contracts, and commercial snow-and-ice management. For property managers and HOAs we provide seasonal service agreements that keep trees safe and budgets predictable.
What's included in your tree removal service?
Our tree removal in Madison includes a walk-through with an ISA Certified Arborist, full removal to ground level, optional stump grinding to 6 inches below grade, brush chipping, and complete property cleanup. We leave your yard spotless.
Do you use climbing spikes or topping cuts?
No. We follow ANSI A300 standards — no spikes on trees we're pruning (only removals), no topping cuts, and no indiscriminate pruning. Our work is designed to keep your trees healthy and structurally sound long-term.
When is the safe window to prune oak trees in Madison?
November through March only. Oak wilt is a fatal fungal disease spread by sap beetles attracted to fresh pruning wounds during warm months. Pruning oaks in Madison between April and October exposes wounds that beetles visit, depositing oak wilt spores that can kill the tree within weeks. We never prune oaks outside the safe dormant window unless it's an emergency hazard, in which case we apply tree wound paint immediately to seal the cut.
Can you treat ash trees for emerald ash borer in Madison?
Yes. For valuable ash trees still healthy enough to save (less than 30% canopy decline), we perform trunk-injection treatment with emamectin benzoate (TREE-äge or Arbor-Mectin) every 2 to 3 years. The optimal injection window is mid-April through June. For ash trees with more than 50% canopy decline, removal is usually the right call — treatment can't reverse advanced damage. We give an honest tree-by-tree assessment for each ash on your property.
Do you help with storm damage insurance claims in Madison?
Yes. We provide detailed photographic documentation, written damage assessments, and itemized invoices that adjusters need to process claims efficiently. We bill many major homeowners insurance carriers directly so you don't have to front the cost. Our documentation has helped Madison homeowners through claims after every major storm event in the past decade — derecho damage, ice storms, summer thunderstorms, and heavy wet snow events.
Need tree work in Madison?
Fast response, free estimates, and work done right the first time — by a crew that's been serving Southern Wisconsin since 2010.
