The Secret to Getting a Tree Cutting Permit

I'm standing there in the front yard looking up at this thing.
 
It's two feet wide at the stump and about seventy feet tall. A Douglas Fir.
The guy starts telling me all the stuff he doesn't like about it.

moss on the roof

debris filled gutters

roots through the lawn

cracks in the cement

water line runs this way

gas line runs that way

sewerage goes there 

daughters bedroom at the corner. She can't sleep at night cause she thinks it going to fall and crush her.

"Will you get rid of it for me?" 

I stopped to think about it.

 

Have you ever been upset to see a tree get cut that you felt should not have been cut?

 
I've worked with trees for a long time. My father was a logger and I followed in his footsteps. Since then I've done a lot of stuff with trees. 

• fell
• planted
•  climbed
• built
• pruned

The things I have enjoyed the most about at this work is not the trees. It's the conquering of problems. Applying skill and creativity. It has been a career of working on some intense challenges. The things I love the most about working with trees are the tools that make it possible.
 
After a while I started noticing some problems out there in the realm of arboriculture. I put those problems into 3 categories.

1. World is Falling Apart Problems

• Climate change
• Pine beetle
• Emerald ash borer

2. Industry Self Imposed Problems

• Unqualified, untrained contractors performing poor quality work at rock bottom prices.

3. General Public Lack of Understanding Problems

• A lot of people just don't understand trees.

 You're probably wondering.

What does all this have to do with the secret to getting a tree cutting permit?

Here's the thing.
There aren't many municipalities out there that even require a permit for cutting a private tree.
 
That's the real problem.
 
The secret I want to know is this.

 

How do we get municipalities to do right by trees?