Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 87, § 1 (2026)
Public shade trees; definition
✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. All trees within a public way or on the boundaries thereof including trees planted in accordance with the provisions of section 7 shall be public shade trees; and when it appears in any proceeding in which the ownership of or rights in a tree are material to the issue, that, from length of time or otherwise, the boundaries of the highway cannot be made certain by records or monuments, and that for that reason it is doubtful whether the tree is within the highway, it shall be taken to be within the highway and to be public property until the contrary is shown.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases, 1930–2000 · leading case: Jones v. Town of Great Barrington, 174 N.E. 118 (Mass. 1930).
Jones v. Town of Great Barrington, 174 N.E. 118 (Mass. 1930). “” This provision is substantially reenacted in G. L. c. 87, § 1. The tree warden in performing his duties is a public officer.”
Hackett v. Costa, 12 Mass. L. Rptr. 420 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2000). “G.L.c. 87, §§1 et seq. 10 In sum, an owner of land abutting a highway has no common law duty to trim or remove vegetation that *423 may adversely affect the vision of motorists approaching an intersection.”
Mosley v. Massachusetts Elec. Co., 5 Mass. L. Rptr. 274 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1996). “” G.L.c. 87, §1. The trees on Town property along Bryn Mawr Avenue bordered a public way and thus were “public shade trees.”
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