Butternut Assessment and Registry Submission
Current Ontario assessment and Registry documentation for work that may affect a Butternut tree or its critical root zone.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea) remains endangered in Ontario. The rules changed on March 30, 2026. We deliver the full assessment, and the Registry submission where the legal path requires one, within 2 business days of the site visit.
We assess the Butternut and file the Registry submission
We review the proposed work and affected area, assess the Butternut trees, prepare the documentation required for the applicable Registry path, and submit that information through Ontario's Species Conservation Registry.
The advanced-canker exception has its own report requirements. If that exception does not fit the site, the activity needs a registration with a conservation plan, or a permit if it involves digging up the tree. We identify the current path from the project facts rather than applying a fixed buffer or an old classification form.
Send the site plan, proposed work, known tree locations, and any earlier Butternut documents with the inquiry.
Send these before the site visit
- Provide the latest site or survey plan.
- Mark the proposed work and expected work dates.
- Include earlier tree records or agency correspondence.
The current framework
Ontario replaced the former Butternut process
The Species Conservation Act, 2025 and its regulations took effect on March 30, 2026. Butternut remains listed as endangered under O. Reg. 60/26.
Section 16 activity
The Act covers activity likely to kill, harm, capture or take a protected species, or damage or destroy its habitat. For Butternut, habitat is the critical root zone surrounding the plant.
Advanced-canker exception
O. Reg. 61/26 provides an exception when a qualified Butternut professional determines that canker is so advanced that retention would not support local protection or recovery. The required report and notice go through the Registry before the day a person first engages in the activity.
Registration or permit
If an exception does not apply, killing or harming a Butternut or damaging its critical root zone is a registerable activity. It needs a registration with a conservation plan, and work cannot start until the Minister confirms the registration. Digging up or collecting a Butternut is a permit activity.
No fixed universal buffer
Current law uses the critical root zone as the plant's habitat. No Act or regulation sets a distance for it, so the zone is worked out for each tree and site.
Advanced-canker files
Schedule 3 sets the report record
The exception is based on a tree-specific professional determination. A declining tree alone does not qualify.
The report must support why each affected tree meets the advanced-canker test. The report is submitted with the Registry notice before the day a person first engages in the activity.
The report records
- The professional's identity, completion date, qualifications, and supporting documents.
- The proposed activity and its expected start and end dates.
- Each advanced-canker Butternut that the activity will affect.
- Coordinates and the date each tree was assessed.
- Whether the stem is at least 1.37 metres in height and, if so, the diameter of the stem measured at a height of 1.37 metres.
- The basis for the determination and at least one photograph of each tree.
Service process
The file follows the project facts
Scope review
We review the proposed activity, plans, known tree locations, expected dates, and earlier records.
Field assessment
The site work documents the affected Butternut trees and the information needed for the current regulatory path.
Report preparation
We prepare the applicable assessment record and Registry information from the field findings and project scope.
Registry submission
We submit the required information through the Registry and provide the submission record and next steps.
Bring the Butternut file in before site work
The field record and Registry filing must be done before the activity starts.
A Butternut is identified
A survey, arborist record, agency comment, or site observation identifies a possible Butternut in the work area.
Work may affect the root zone
Excavation, grading, access, servicing, tree removal, or other work may affect the tree or its critical root zone.
A review flags species law
A planning, building, or environmental review asks for current Butternut documentation before the project proceeds.
Butternut assessment FAQ
When can work near a Butternut engage Ontario species law?
The Species Conservation Act, 2025 applies when an activity is likely to kill, harm, capture or take a protected species, or damage or destroy its habitat. For a vascular plant such as Butternut, habitat means the critical root zone around the plant. The law sets no fixed distance, so we work out the zone for each tree and site.
Does every Butternut project use the advanced-canker exception?
No. That exception applies only when a qualified Butternut professional determines that canker is so advanced that retaining the tree would not support local protection or recovery. If the exception does not apply, killing or harming the tree or damaging its critical root zone needs a registration with a conservation plan, not a permit. Work cannot start until the Minister confirms the registration. Digging up or collecting a Butternut needs a permit.
What does the advanced-canker report contain?
Schedule 3 of O. Reg. 61/26 requires information about the professional and their qualifications, the proposed activity and expected dates, the affected trees, coordinates, assessment dates, measurements where required, the basis for the determination, and photographs.
How long does a Butternut assessment take?
We deliver the assessment report within 2 business days of the site visit. For an advanced-canker tree, the Registry notice must be filed before work starts. For a registerable activity, work waits for the Minister's confirmation of registration, and the Act sets no time limit for it.
Are the old numbered Butternut classifications still current?
No. Ontario states that the current regulations do not use the former numbered classifications for new assessments. Current files must follow the Species Conservation Act, 2025 and its regulations.
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- Free consultation, response within 24 hours.
- Assessment report within 2 business days of the site visit.
- We do not sell tree removal.
Serving Toronto, the GTA and Southern Ontario.
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