— Local Coverage —
From Silver Lake to the US-23 Corridor
Green Oak is nearly 37 square miles, and two of them are water: Whitmore Lake, Silver Lake, Hidden Lake, Fonda, Briggs, Ore, and a dozen more. Island Lake Recreation Area — 4,000 acres on the Huron River and the state's third-busiest park — sits inside the township line. The housing runs from 1930s lake cottages to gated subdivisions built after 2000, on lots that average better than half an acre, under oak, hickory, and maple that the township's own ordinance calls landmark trees at 24 inches. Whether it's a single dead ash beside the driveway or a full tree line that needs clearing, we bring the crew and the equipment to finish it in one trip and leave the property clean.
— NEIGHBORHOODS & AREAS —
— What We Do —
Services in Green Oak Township
Tree Removal
Safe takedowns of any size — from a single dead ash to full clearing along a driveway or fence line. Every branch and log hauled, yard left spotless.
Tree Trimming & Pruning
Structural pruning, canopy thinning, deadwooding, and clearance work over roofs, driveways, and power lines. Healthier trees, cleaner curb appeal.
Stump Grinding
Below-grade grinding with chip cleanup and grade repair, so you can replant, re-sod, or forget the stump was ever there.
24/7 Storm & Emergency Work
Trees on houses, trees on cars, trees blocking the road — we respond day or night with the trucks, chippers, and skid steers to make it safe fast.
Land & Lot Clearing
Overgrown lots, buildable parcels, and property line cleanup. We drop, chip, and haul so your project can start clean.
Landscape Design & Install
After the trees come down — beds, plantings, sod, and hardscape done right by the same crew that knows your yard.
— Why Homeowners Call Us —
Local know-how in Green Oak Township
Livingston County Took the September Storm Hard
On September 2–3, 2026 the National Weather Service clocked 70 mph gusts in Howell and 60 in Brighton, logged numerous large trees down, and noted residential tree damage around Whitmore Lake. Livingston County had more than 15,000 DTE customers out — second only to Oakland — and a tornado warning that Thursday covered Whitmore Lake and Island Lake. We were out here that week and we're on call for the next one.
Dead Ash on Wooded Lots
Emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees in Michigan, and Green Oak's wooded parcels still hold a lot of it standing dead. The township's landmark list includes ash at 24 inches — a reminder of how big they used to get. Dead ash gets brittle and unpredictable; we take it down before it comes down on its own, and we don't climb it to do it.
Oak Wilt Timing
The Michigan Oak Wilt Coalition rates the statewide risk as high, and southeast Michigan's oak-hickory woods are where it spreads. State guidance is firm: don't prune oaks between April 15 and July 15, and a red oak that's infected can't be saved. We schedule Green Oak oak work for the dormant season.
Lake Cottages and Long Approaches
The old cottages on Whitmore and Silver Lake have willows and cottonwoods leaning over seawalls, and the acreage out toward Island Lake and Huron Meadows has driveways lined with tree line. Both need careful rigging and the right machine to reach them. Nothing ends up in the water or on the neighbor's dock.
— Local Rules —
Green Oak Township Tree Rules
Green Oak's woodland ordinance is written for developers, with a clear carve-out for homeowners — and one exception worth knowing about. Here's the short version.
Homes on Five Acres or Less: No Permit
The township's Woodlands Protection ordinance (Zoning Section 38-363) exempts residential parcels of five acres or less with a single home on them. You can remove or transplant trees on that kind of lot without a township permit — as long as the parcel isn't part of an active site plan, plat, or site condo review.
Landmark Trees Are the Exception
That homeowner exemption does not apply to designated landmark or historic trees. Green Oak's landmark thresholds are 24 inches in diameter for oak, maple, hickory, ash, elm, walnut, beech, pine, and spruce; 18 inches for birch, hemlock, and red cedar; and just 8 inches for flowering dogwood. A permit is required to remove one, and a historic tree has to be replaced inch for inch — a 48-inch oak means twenty-four 2-inch trees.
Storms, Dead Trees, and Utility Work Are Exempt
The ordinance exempts emergency removals after a tornado or windstorm, dead, diseased, infested, or damaged trees, and public utility work. After a storm you don't need to wait on the township to get a hazard tree off the house.
Developing Land Is a Different Story
On land under site plan, plat, or site condo review — or on parcels being split — no tree six inches or larger can be removed without approval, and replacement is one for one, with landmark trees replaced inch for inch. The township keeps a woodland area map at the building department that shows which parcels are covered.
Roads Belong to the Livingston County Road Commission
Green Oak has no township road crew. Every public road is a Livingston County Road Commission road, and any work in the road right-of-way needs an LCRC permit. The Road Commission asks that nothing be planted in the right-of-way that could grow into a fixed object or block sight lines, and it removes dead roadside trees itself. LCRC: (517) 546-4250.
DTE and MISS DIG
DTE maintains vegetation around its pole-to-pole lines, but keeping branches off the service drop to your house is the homeowner's responsibility, and DTE itself recommends hiring a professional for it. Call 811 at least three business days before any stump grinding or planting.
Ordinances change — confirm current requirements with Green Oak Township before planting or removing.
— Questions We Hear —
Green Oak Township Tree Service FAQs
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Green Oak Township?+
What is a landmark tree in Green Oak Township?+
Can you remove trees leaning over Whitmore Lake or Silver Lake?+
Who handles a tree in the road right-of-way in Green Oak Township?+
How fast can you respond to storm damage in Green Oak Township?+
— Our Process —
How a Job Goes
- ✓Free on-site estimate, usually within the week
- ✓Clear written quote — no surprise add-ons
- ✓Scheduled crew arrives in marked trucks with proper gear
- ✓Careful rigging around houses, fences, and landscaping
- ✓Every branch and log chipped or hauled off-site
- ✓Yard raked and blown clean before we leave
— Nearby Cities —
Also serving near Green Oak Township
Don't see your city? Ask us — we travel across all of Southeast Michigan.