With fines increasing and insurance cover for those fines now banned, the stakes for working around protected trees have never been higher – as a recent case shows In October, DS Trees Limited was fined $29,250 in the Auckland District Court after illegally trimming a protected tōtara in Mt Eden. The company admitted cutting three branches over 50mm in diameter without the required consent, damaging the tree’s shape and breaching District Plan rules protecting notable trees.

University of Auckland's Margaret Stanley, Professor of Ecology, and Abigail Cunningham, a Biological Sciences Research Assistant,...