Pro Tree Service handles tree service in Chesterton, IN and across Porter County — removals, trimming and pruning, stump grinding, lot clearing and 24-hour storm response. An ISA Certified Arborist leads our crews, and we have worked northwest Indiana since 1989.
Chesterton Has the Strictest Tree Code in Porter County
Most towns around here have no tree ordinance at all. Chesterton has Chapter 26, and it is worth understanding before you hire anyone.
A tree care permit is required before anyone plants, removes, or cuts above the ground on a public tree, or excavates within a ten foot radius of one. Trimming branches three inches or less is exempt, and § 26-11 exempts storm emergencies. Topping is prohibited as a standard practice under § 26-9. Section 26-10 requires stumps be taken at least six inches below grade — which is deeper than the four inches a lot of companies grind by default.
And § 26-8 reaches further than most codes in this region: anyone working for hire on tree care in Chesterton, on private trees or municipal street trees, must first register with the Clerk-Treasurer. Read it yourself in the Chesterton Code of Ordinances. The town is the authority on its own requirements, and nothing here is legal advice.
We are registered with the Clerk-Treasurer as § 26-8 requires, and we grind stumps to the depth § 26-10 calls for. It is worth asking whoever you hire whether they are. An unregistered contractor working a Chesterton tree is a problem you inherit, not one they carry.
Chesterton has been a Tree City USA since 1996 and has an active Tree Committee. The town cares about this, and the code shows it.
Duneland Conditions
Chesterton sits where the moraine meets the dunes, on the edge of Indiana Dunes National Park. That transition changes the work. Toward the lake you are into sandier ground that drains fast and holds a root plate differently than till does. Storms arriving with northwest flow off Lake Michigan hit this side of the county first — on 30 and 31 January 2026 the National Weather Service recorded nine inches at Chesterton, with rates above three inches an hour across the county.
Tree Trimming and Pruning in Chesterton
Clearance over roofs and drives, deadwood out of mature trees, weight reduction on over-extended laterals. We prune to ANSI A300 standards, and we do not top trees — § 26-9 prohibits it and it is bad practice regardless. Full detail on our tree trimming services page.
Dead Ash and Tree Removal
Emerald ash borer has been found in all 92 Indiana counties, and Purdue’s landscape extension reports most untreated ash in the state is dead. A dead ash does not hold still. The wood dries and turns brittle, and it loses the strength a climber needs to work it safely. Every year one stands, it gets more dangerous and more expensive. See tree and bush removal.
Stump Grinding
Every removal includes haul-away of the wood and brush. In Chesterton we grind to at least six inches below grade because § 26-10 requires it, deeper if you plan to replant. See stump removal and grinding.
Storm Damage in Chesterton
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Section 26-11 exempts storm emergencies from the permit requirement, so a hazard tree does not wait on paperwork. Call and describe what you are looking at and we will tell you honestly whether it needs a crew that night or can wait for daylight.
If there are wires involved, stay away from the tree, call 911, then call NIPSCO’s electric emergency line at 1-800-464-7726. More on how we work storms: emergency and storm response.
Get an Estimate in Chesterton
Tell us the address and what you are looking at. For a single tree, a photo helps. Estimates are free, any day of the week.
Call 708-424-5885 or request one online.
Chesterton is part of our Porter County service area. We work all of northwest Indiana.