Short answer: Yes, we work throughout Mission, from Hatzic and Cedar Valley to the Silverdale side. Typical removals run $500 to $900 for small trees, $900 to $1,800 for mid-size trees and $1,800 to $4,500 for the tall firs on Mission slopes. Mission’s tree bylaw applies only inside a mapped southwest area, plus slope and stream rules.
What Makes Mission Tree Work Different?
Mission is different from the valley floor communities, and its tree work is too. The district climbs the south-facing slope above the Fraser, and the hillsides it climbs are second-growth forest: dense Douglas fir and western red cedar that regrew tall and fast on moist, productive ground after the original logging. Neighbourhoods from the older streets above downtown to Hatzic Bench, College Heights and the newer developments up Cedar Valley were built into and against those stands. The practical result: it is completely normal in Mission for a 40 metre fir to stand a tree-length from a living room, on a slope, uphill of the house.
That is the work we do here: careful, rigged, slope-aware dismantling of very tall conifers in tight quarters, plus everything that surrounds it, pruning the keepers, grinding the stumps, clearing the brush, and answering the phone when the storm gets one first.
What Tree Services Do You Offer in Mission?
- Tree Removal: Safe removal of hazardous, dying or unwanted trees, from backyard cedars to 40 metre Douglas firs beside the house.
- Tree Trimming & Pruning: Crown thinning, raising and reduction that keeps trees healthy and wind-firm, never topped.
- Stump Grinding: Grinding stumps well below grade so you can replant, re-turf or build over the spot.
- Emergency & Storm Damage: Fast response when windstorms and atmospheric rivers put trees onto roofs, driveways and fences.
- Hedge Trimming & Removal: Cedar hedge shaping, height reduction and full hedge removal for city lots and acreages.
- Danger Tree Assessment: On-site risk assessments of leaning, dying or storm-damaged trees, following industry-standard arborist practices.
- Lot & Land Clearing: Clearing building lots, brush and overgrown acreage, with chipping and haul-away included.
Why Do Mission Slopes Change the Job?
Mission's steep ground raises the stakes on the valley's wet winters. Weeks of atmospheric river rain saturate hillside soils until root plates soften, and the same slopes that give Mission its views give falling trees extra reach: a tree on ground 10 metres above your home effectively gains that height as a hazard. Slope work also changes how removal is done. We plan every hillside job around terrain: climbers rather than machines where ground is steep, rigging that moves wood to where it can be processed, and, where slope stability matters, leaving stumps and root systems in the ground to keep holding soil after the hazard above them is gone. Downhill neighbours, retaining walls and drainage patterns all get considered before the first cut.
Do You Need a Tree Permit in Mission?
It depends on where your property sits. Mission's Tree Management Bylaw 3872-2006 applies only to parcels in the Urban and Urban Reserve area shown on its Schedule A map in the southwest of the municipality, and only to trees at least 20 cm in diameter measured 150 cm above the ground. Outside that mapped area the bylaw does not apply, which is why Mission feels inconsistent from street to street.
Inside the mapped area, the bylaw exempts cutting up to five trees per 0.4 hectare in a calendar year, to a maximum of 50 trees, and exempts trees within 30 metres of a residential dwelling, among other cases. The catch is that none of those exemptions apply to trees within 30 metres of the top of bank of a stream, or on land steeper than 3:1. Those are exactly the slopes and creek edges Mission is built on, so check the map first. Penalties under the bylaw run from $1,000 to $10,000 per offence, with each day counted separately.
Confirm your specific address with the City of Mission before cutting, since maps and bylaws are amended over time. Our guide to tree permit costs across the Fraser Valley compares Mission with its neighbours, and where a removal is hazard-based our written danger tree assessments document the defect and the risk.
What Are the Most Common Mission Jobs?
- Tall firs over homes: sectional removal of 30 to 45 metre second-growth firs and cedars above and beside houses from Hatzic to Cedar Valley
- Forest-edge management: assessment and selective removal along the property lines where subdivisions meet standing timber
- Slope hazard work: danger trees uphill of homes, decks and driveways, planned around slope stability
- Rural properties: Stave Falls, Steelhead, Silverdale and Dewdney acreages, from single hazards to clearing projects
- Storm response: hillside windthrow and blocked mountain driveways after the fall and winter systems; see emergency response
Do You Serve Mission's Neighbours?
Across the bridge and along the highway we cover Abbotsford, Langley and Chilliwack, plus Maple Ridge and Dewdney-Deroche by arrangement.
Mission Tree Service FAQs
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Mission?
It depends on your address. Mission’s Tree Management Bylaw 3872-2006 applies only to parcels inside the Urban and Urban Reserve area mapped in its Schedule A, in the southwest of the municipality, and only to trees at least 20 cm in diameter measured 150 cm above the ground. Inside that area several exemptions apply, including up to five trees per 0.4 hectare per year and trees within 30 metres of a dwelling, but none of those exemptions apply within 30 metres of the top of bank of a stream or on land steeper than 3:1. Confirm your specific address with the City.
How much does tree removal cost in Mission?
Mission skews toward the upper end of valley pricing because its trees skew tall: expect $500 to $900 for small trees, $900 to $1,800 mid-size, and $1,800 to $4,500 for the big second-growth firs and cedars on Mission’s hillsides, with crane or high-complexity work above that. Firm written quotes always precede work.
Why are the trees in Mission so tall?
History and geography. Mission’s north-slope hillsides were logged a century ago and regrew into dense second-growth Douglas fir and cedar stands on moist, productive ground, and many neighbourhoods were built directly into those stands. The result is 35 to 45 metre trees standing within falling distance of homes, which is unusual even by BC standards.
The trees behind my Mission home are on a steep slope. Can you even work there?
Yes, slope work is standard for us in Mission. Climbers and rigging do what machines cannot on steep ground, ropes move wood uphill or down as the terrain dictates, and where slope stability is a factor we recommend keeping stumps and roots in place to hold soil, removing the hazard while leaving the anchor. Each slope job is planned on site.
Do you serve Stave Falls, Steelhead and Hatzic?
All of them, plus Silverdale, Silverhill and Dewdney. The rural and semi-rural properties around Mission carry big forest-edge trees over homes, shops and driveways, and they are a core part of our Mission work. Access and power line coordination get planned in advance for the further properties.