Crane & Large Tree Removal in Temperance, Michigan

Which tree-removal rules apply in Temperance?

Temperance is a place name and a post office (ZIP 48182), not a municipality. It has no village council, no city forestry department and no tree ordinance of its own; the government is Bedford Township, whose offices are on Jackman Road in Temperance itself, and the roads are the Monroe County Road Commission’s. The township’s general ordinances were read for the Bedford Township page, and the finding is the same here: no tree ordinance. The zoning ordinance regulates tree removal only on development sites under site plan review (§ 400.1913), and it gives the Temperance crossroads its own Temperance Village Overlay District (§ 400.1701B) — a set of rules about sidewalks, cafés and displays for the commercial core at Lewis and Temperance Road, which among other things forbids attaching anything to a tree on the public sidewalk. The blight ordinance (§ 114.004 J) counts a left-behind pile of cut trees or brush as blight, so a removal here includes the haul.

A tree on your lot in Temperance, then, comes down with no permit from anyone. A tree on the roadside is the road commission’s question.

Who manages roads and roadside tree permits in Temperance?

Lewis Avenue, Sterns Road, Temperance Road, Dean Road, Summerfield Road and the subdivision streets that were dedicated to the public are county roads, and the Monroe County Road Commission states that any work within its right-of-way requires an MCRC permit — Permits, 734-240-5132, Permits@mcrc-mi.org. That covers a tree standing on the shoulder, and it covers a crane or a chipper parked on it. US-23, which passes just west of Temperance, is MDOT’s. A private subdivision street belongs to its association, which is worth checking before the day is booked.

Electric utility and safe tree clearance

Check the electric supplier on the property bill before arranging line clearance. Consumers Energy lists Bedford Township in its electric service territory; do not assume that a Monroe County address is supplied by DTE. Consumers Energy’s tree-maintenance policy covers vegetation around its lines, including branches rubbing on service conductors. Utility line clearance is separate from a complete private-tree removal and haul-away estimate.

For a downed line, keep clear, call 911 and contact the electric utility: Consumers Energy 800-477-5050, or DTE 800-477-4747 where DTE supplies the property. DTE’s published trimming guidance distinguishes pole-to-pole lines from the customer’s service drop. Arrange any disconnection with the utility; do not have a private crew cut around an energized wire.

Oak wilt and the pruning calendar

The Michigan DNR asks that oaks not be pruned from April 15 to July 15; red oaks can die within weeks of infection, the fungus spreads through root grafts, and storm wounds in that window are painted at once. MSU Extension records the disease across the Lower Peninsula. The oaks in Temperance’s woodlot-backed cul-de-sacs are the trees this protects: a live-oak trim waits for mid-July; a dead-tree removal does not.

Storm exposure

Temperance sits about ten miles from Toledo Express Airport, the nearest NWS station, which recorded 61 mph in the March 13, 2026 windstorm; DTE reported more than 94,000 customers out across south-east Michigan that night. The 2012 and 2022 derechos crossed the township too, the 2022 storm dropping 10-inch oak limbs in Sylvania, a few miles south-west. Subdivision silver maples shed stems at the union in those winds; a maple that split in March and is still standing over the garage in September is the one to plan for now. The storm and insurance guide includes the Michigan DIFS guidance on what a policy pays.

Big trees in Temperance subdivisions

Temperance grew as Toledo’s northern suburb from the 1960s on, and its houses came with silver maples. Planted as fast shade around ranch houses and split-levels on 80- to 100-foot lots, they are now at the ODNR’s mature size — 80 feet, with co-dominant stems — and brittle: the ODNR describes a tree that takes “significant storm damage throughout its life.” Most stand between the house and the detached garage or over the garage itself, with the electric service drop through the crown, and on a subdivision lot there is no drop zone.

The older lots along Lewis Avenue carry the county’s dead ash: emerald ash borer was found in south-east Michigan in 2002, and on the ODNR’s three-to-six-year timeline every ash here died years ago and stands brittle. Nobody climbs one. And the newer cul-de-sacs that back onto retained woodlots have red and white oaks — heavy, sound wood and a rigging problem rather than a brittleness problem. The size guide gives the method thresholds; the dead ash guide explains why the ash comes out first.

Crane scenario: a 30-inch silver maple between a ranch house and garage

The partner crew owns its cranes and works both sides of the line; ask about availability for your Temperance address.

Working with a crew from across the line

Temperance is where the Ohio–Michigan problem is most visible: the Toledo tree company that quoted the house in Sylvania will often not quote the one on Sterns Road a couple of miles north, because Michigan means checking the property’s electric utility, an MCRC permit for anything on the shoulder, and an insurance certificate that names Michigan. Ask any crew that crosses the line three things — does its insurance cover Michigan work, who pulls the MCRC permit, and does it hold a Michigan MDARD pesticide license if it will treat anything. The partner crew is licensed in both Ohio and Michigan and has worked in Temperance since at least 2024, and the Ohio vs Michigan guide has the full contrast. The Lambertville page covers the west half of the township.

What to send for a Temperance estimate

The address; a wide photo from the street and one from the back yard; trunk diameter at chest height; whether the trunk stands on the road shoulder; the driveway width and surface; whether a wire runs through the crown; and whether the stump should go. That is enough to say whether the job is a climb-and-rig removal or a crane removal, and what the cost ranges look like.