• Ft. Lewis - Army Corp of Engineers
• Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation (SDPR)
• City of Bellevue Parks Resource Department
• City of Lynnwood
• Seattle Conservation Corps
• Tacoma Metro Parks
• Pierce County Transit
• SDOT
• SPU
• UW
• Metro Transit

• street trees
• boulevard, median trees
• greenbelt trees
• any trees considered to stand within the public's right-of-way (ROW)
• trees standing in "Historic Landmark Preservation Districts"

The counties and the state of Washington also adopted more comprehensive and restrictive regulations in the realm of tree removal in the early 1990s. The SEPA (State Environmental Protection Act) is often invoked by smaller jurisdictions to decide on the feasibility of large scale tree removal on or near “environmentally critical areas”. Most recently, the ESA (Endangered Species Act) has added new twists to the permit acquisition process, especially with respect to the current effort underway to renew state salmon runs.

No matter how monolithic governmental regulations may appear at first glance, remember that the necessity for removal of hazards will usually take precedence over any ECA or ESA codicils or statutes. As an example: the city of Mercer Island has instituted a program to protect bald eagle habitat by regulating large tree removal within a 300' radius of a nest tree. However, the city's contracted arborist will waive the regulations in the case of a demonstrably hazardous tree.

When we do contract with you for tree removal, remember that we are a full-service tree firm and a Washington state contractor. We provide both pruning (by ISA Certified Arborists) and complete tree removal service including grinding or excavating the stumps - an important detail for your benefit. Only fully licensed, insured, and bonded contractors - registered as such with the state ¬may engage in such below-ground excavation activity.

In order to qualify for state Labor and Industries protection the contractor must show evidence of high levels of business liability insurance to the state. Amounts vary according to volume, payroll, and particular risks. CFI carries 2 million dollars on the job-liability side and 1 million dollars on the vehicular side.
Each component has an additional million dollar umbrella. Our policy allows us to name our clients - YOU - as an "additional insured party." Simply put, if we cause damage to a third party during your project, our insurance protects you from claims made against you.