Tree service for Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva — where every native tree needs a permit and the surge was fifteen feet
The barrier islands have the strictest tree rules in the county, the most invasive Australian pines, and a 2022 storm surge that rewrote the landscape. We work here by the book.
Fort Myers Beach on Estero Island, Sanibel and Captiva across the causeway, and the smaller barrier islands took Ian's surge head-on: ten to fifteen feet on Fort Myers Beach, where the USGS measured 12.7 feet above the tide line, nine to thirteen feet on Sanibel, and the causeway cut for weeks. The islands were stripped — the Australian pine stands that had shaded Sanibel's roads for decades went over in rows, the sea grapes, gumbo limbos and buttonwoods were salt-burned brown, and thousands of structures were lost on the beach. Three years later the native trees have largely come back and the rebuilding is in full swing, which is when tree work on the islands gets complicated, because these are the strictest tree jurisdictions in Lee County.
Sanibel's vegetation code (Chapter 122) requires a permit to remove a protected native tree, to prune more than a quarter of one, to touch anything seaward of the 1974 coastal construction line, to trim mangroves, or to remove invasive exotics by machine; its Natural Resources department reviews every one. Fort Myers Beach defines any living woody plant ten feet tall with a four-inch trunk as protected and requires a vegetation permit with a tree map. Captiva and the other islands fall under the county's barrier-island rule, where every single-family lot needs a clearing permit. Hat-racking is prohibited outright. We know the forms, we write the arborist narratives, we prune natives to the standard the islands demand, and we take out the Australian pines that both towns want gone — by hand where the code says by hand.
What we do in Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel & Captiva
Island permits handled
Sanibel Chapter 122, Fort Myers Beach vegetation permits with tree maps, and county barrier-island clearing permits — filed with the arborist narrative.
Native pruning to the code
Sea grape, gumbo limbo, buttonwood, mahogany and live oak pruned under the 25-percent rule; no hat-racking, ever.
Australian pine removal
The stands both towns want gone, removed to the code's method and hauled.
Post-surge assessments
Salt-burned natives that look dead often aren't; the arborist tells you which to wait on.
Mangroves and the CCCL
Mangroves referred to a Professional Mangrove Trimmer; nothing seaward of the coastal line without the permit.
Rebuild coordination
Clearing and protection fencing for the island rebuilds, inspected before the permit issues.
Neighborhoods and areas we cover
- Fort Myers Beach (Estero Island)
- San Carlos Island
- Times Square & the north end
- Estero Boulevard south
- Sanibel east end
- Sanibel Gulf Drive
- Periwinkle Way
- Dinkins Bayou
- Captiva
- South Seas area
- Bonita Beach Road end
- Lovers Key area
Tree services available in Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel & Captiva
- Tree removal, 24/7 emergency service, crane removal
- Trimming & pruning, palm trimming, palm removal & diseases
- Dead pine removal, Australian pine & invasive removal, stump grinding
- Hurricane prep, storm cleanup, vacant lot clearing
Questions from Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel & Captiva homeowners
Do I need a permit to cut a tree on Sanibel?
Almost always. Sanibel requires a vegetation permit to remove a protected native tree, to prune more than 25 percent of its leaf area, to work seaward of the 1974 CCCL, to trim mangroves, or to machine-remove exotics. Natural Resources (239-472-3700) reviews them. We prepare and file the application.
And on Fort Myers Beach?
The town defines a protected tree as any living woody plant at least ten feet tall with a trunk four inches or more in diameter, and requires a vegetation removal permit with a tree-location map and a narrative. Protection barricades are inspected before the permit issues. We handle it.
My sea grapes went brown after Ian. Are they dead?
Most weren't — salt burn drops the leaves and the native island trees push new growth within a season. Three years on, anything still bare is gone. We'll tell you which is which before anything is cut.
Can you remove the Australian pines on my island lot?
Yes, and both towns want them gone — they're on every prohibited list and they went over in rows in Ian. The permit still applies to the method and the protection of nearby natives.
Nearby: San Carlos Park, Iona & McGregor · Bonita Springs & Estero · Pine Island & Matlacha · Fort Myers · full service area