
Tree Service in Monona, WI
Landmark Pl office: (608) 716-4167. After-hours 24/7 dispatch: (608) 751-4171.
Professional tree care for Monona properties.

Tree Removal
Safe, efficient removal for residential and commercial properties — small ornamentals through heritage oaks.
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Tree Trimming & Pruning
ANSI A300 structural pruning and maintenance to keep trees healthy, strong, and safe long-term.
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Stump Grinding
Complete stump grinding to 6 inches below grade. We leave your yard spotless and ready for landscaping.
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Arborist Services
Diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment plans from ISA Certified Arborists — not a commission salesperson.
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Emergency & Storm Response
24/7 response for storm damage, fallen trees, trees on structures, and hazardous situations.
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Commercial Services
Tree care programs for commercial properties, HOAs, municipalities, and property managers.
Learn moreWhat tree care looks like in Monona, beyond the basics.
Monona is a Dane County city of about 8,600 people (8,624 in the 2020 Census) on the southeastern shore of Lake Monona, with a little over four miles of shoreline. The city is almost entirely surrounded by Madison, with only a short border on the Town of Blooming Grove. There is no Tree Wise Men office in Monona. Crews come from the Madison office at 2909 Landmark Pl, on the same Dane County schedule as Madison's east side.
Monona took its name from the lake and sits on the eastern and southern shore, between the water and Madison's east side. Monona Drive is the commercial spine along the lake. Winnequah and Winnequah Park are on the south side. The Yahara River leaves Lake Monona and runs south toward Lake Waubesa and McFarland. The Beltline, US 12/18, runs along the north edge and is the route crews use from Landmark Pl. The city was incorporated in 1938 and covers about 3.3 square miles of land.
Monona is a Tree City USA community. A City Forester, through Public Works, looks after more than 4,500 trees in the right-of-way and terraces plus more than 1,000 trees in city parks. The city's tree program describes that public right-of-way as extending roughly 15 feet in from the street. Planting, pruning, or removing a tree in that terrace or in a park requires a permit from the City Forester. A tree in a private yard is the owner's to maintain, though the forester can order a diseased or hazardous private tree removed when it threatens the public. We file terrace permits before we touch a street tree.
Lakeshore lots carry the same failure pattern as Madison's east shore. Willows and silver maples on saturated bank soil fail first in straight-line wind. Ash killed by emerald ash borer fails next, because the dead wood is brittle. Oak wilt is confirmed across Dane County, so live oaks in older Monona blocks are pruned only from November through March unless a broken limb is an immediate hazard. Emerald ash borer has been in Dane County since the early 2010s, and an untreated ash here is on the same clock as an ash in Madison.
Tree pressure unique to Monona
Oak wilt is confirmed across Dane County, including oak canopy in older Monona blocks, and the November-through-March pruning window is non-negotiable except for an emergency hazard. Emerald ash borer is the default assumption for untreated ash. Willows and silver maples on the Lake Monona shore fail first when wind hits saturated soil.
Utility coordination
MGE (Madison Gas and Electric) serves most of Dane County, including the Madison–Monona area. If a tree is in a power line, call 911 and MGE first. We remove the tree after the utility clears the line, and we coordinate planned line-clearance work with MGE.
Permits and Monona forestry coordination
The City of Monona requires a City Forester permit to plant, prune, or remove a tree in the public terrace or a city park. The terrace right-of-way runs roughly 15 feet in from the street, and Public Works maintains those street trees. Work on a tree in a private yard does not use that public-tree permit. Shoreline lots can also fall under Dane County shoreland rules. We handle the terrace permit before any street-tree work.
Neighborhoods and areas we serve in Monona
Lake Monona shoreline
Saturated banks, willows and silver maples, wind off the lake
Monona Drive
Commercial and residential canopy along the east shore
Winnequah
South-side blocks and park-adjacent canopy
Yahara River / south end
Toward Lake Waubesa and McFarland
Madison border
The city is nearly surrounded by Madison
Recent Projects from Our Crews
A look at recent tree work across Southern Wisconsin. Every job is walked by an ISA Certified Arborist before we start.






What Monona-area Homeowners Say About Us
4.9 stars across 966 Google reviews of our Janesville, Madison, and Fort Atkinson crews — pulled live from Google, not hand-picked.
I highly recommend Tree Wise Men! I’ve used them for several tree and stump services, most recently for stump removal and grinding. They’re always fast, competitively priced, and do an excellent job cleaning up afterward. Professional, dependable, and great to work with!
Candace Prisco
in the last week · Fort Atkinson listing
Well done! Neat as a pin, even seeded my lawn!
Greg Roy
in the last week · Fort Atkinson listing
Erik did a great job protecting my trees from deer damage
Benjamin Fiss
in the last week · Fort Atkinson listing
Dedicated Service Pages for This City
We've built deeper, service-specific pages for the most common tree work in this area. Each one covers local context — neighborhood patterns, permit notes, species risks, and proven approaches.
Guides and services for Monona homeowners
Dispatched from our Madison office on Landmark Pl. These pages cover emergency response, pricing, oak wilt, emerald ash borer, and stump work without sending you back to a generic hub.
Tree service in Monona — common questions.
How fast can you respond to emergencies in Monona?
We offer 24/7 emergency response for Monona and all of Southern Wisconsin. Our crews are typically on-site within a few hours for urgent storm damage, fallen trees, or hazardous situations near structures. Call (608) 716-4167 for the Madison office, or (608) 751-4171 any time for 24/7 HQ dispatch — a real person, or our AI phone assistant, will route you immediately.
Are your arborists ISA Certified?
Yes. Every estimate in Monona is walked by an ISA Certified Arborist — Jason James (WI-1418A) or Andrew — not a commission salesperson. We're also TCIA Accredited and carry $2 million in liability insurance plus full workers compensation on every crew.
Do you offer free estimates in Monona?
Yes — estimates are always free. You can request one by phone at (608) 716-4167, through our online contact form, or via our AI phone assistant, which will text you a self-scheduling link within minutes so you can pick a time that works for you.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Monona?
For trees on private property, most Monona-area jurisdictions don't require permits for tree removal. Trees in the public right-of-way (the strip between sidewalk and street, or boulevard trees) are typically managed by the local public works or forestry department and require coordination before any work. Properties in historic districts, HOA-governed neighborhoods, or specific platted subdivisions may have additional restrictions. We handle all permit research and city coordination as part of our service.
Do you work on both residential and commercial properties in Monona?
Yes. We handle single-tree removals, full property clearing, and HOA, municipal, and commercial tree maintenance contracts in Monona. For property managers and HOAs we provide seasonal service agreements that keep trees safe and budgets predictable. (Snow and ice management is a Rock County-only service, dispatched from our Janesville headquarters.)
What's included in your tree removal service?
Our tree removal in Monona includes a walk-through with an ISA Certified Arborist, full removal to ground level, optional stump grinding to 6 inches below grade, brush chipping, and complete property cleanup. We leave your yard spotless.
Do you use climbing spikes or topping cuts?
No. We follow ANSI A300 standards — no spikes on trees we're pruning (only removals), no topping cuts, and no indiscriminate pruning. Our work is designed to keep your trees healthy and structurally sound long-term.
When is the safe window to prune oak trees in Monona?
November through March only. Oak wilt is a fatal fungal disease spread by sap beetles attracted to fresh pruning wounds during warm months. Pruning oaks in Monona between April and October exposes wounds that beetles visit, depositing oak wilt spores that can kill the tree within weeks. We never prune oaks outside the safe dormant window unless it's an emergency hazard, in which case we apply tree wound paint immediately to seal the cut.
Can you treat ash trees for emerald ash borer in Monona?
Yes. For valuable ash trees still healthy enough to save (less than 30% canopy decline), we perform trunk-injection treatment with emamectin benzoate (TREE-äge or Arbor-Mectin) every 2 to 3 years. The optimal injection window is mid-April through June. For ash trees with more than 50% canopy decline, removal is usually the right call — treatment can't reverse advanced damage. We give an honest tree-by-tree assessment for each ash on your property.
Do you help with storm damage insurance claims in Monona?
Yes. We provide detailed photographic documentation, written damage assessments, and itemized invoices that adjusters need to process claims efficiently. We bill many major homeowners insurance carriers directly so you don't have to front the cost. Our documentation has helped Monona homeowners through claims after every major storm event in the past decade — derecho damage, ice storms, summer thunderstorms, and heavy wet snow events.
Need tree work in Monona?
Fast response, free estimates, and work done right the first time — by a crew that's been serving Southern Wisconsin since 2010. Call (608) 716-4167 for the Madison office, or (608) 751-4171 for 24/7 HQ dispatch.
