The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has extended a temporary ban on removing trees in the county until May 31 while they work on a new tree protection ordinance.

The moratorium prohibits removing 31 types of trees that are 6 inches in diameter or taller than “breast height,” with some exceptions, according to county officials.

“Trees and woodlands are essential elements of Sonoma County’s rural and urban lands,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt. “We need more time to get the Tree Protection Ordinance right. This moratorium will ensure that no protected trees are removed in the meantime.”

The new ordinance will replace tree protection rules passed in 1989 and is designed to preserve the county’s trees and forests and help the county reach “carbon neutrality” by 2030.

Possible changes in the new ordinance include “greater mitigation measures and costs for removing protected species based on the appraised value of the tree,” county officials said in a news release.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.