WASHINGTON — If a tree is chopped down in a city and no one is around to see it, does it still result in a fine?

Yes.

Putting a spin on the old forest adage, the D.C. Urban Forestry Administration uses advanced technology to uncover illegal tree removal.

Used annually, such technology could help better enforce the District’s regulations, according to the Washington Business Journal.

A remote-sensing technology affixed to the underside of an aircraft sends pulses of light down to Earth and registers each time that pulse hits something on the way to the ground.

The objective is not to assign fines, but to protect the area’s canopy, says Earl Eutsler, the deputy associate director of D.C.’s Urban Forestry Administration.

Another technology is similar to Google Street View.

Through a series of complex mathematical equations, it triangulates the point in three-dimensional space where that pixel exists.

From that, the administration has been able to measure trees that have been removed illegally.

To assess fees (or fines, in the case of illegal tree removal) the tree’s trunk has to be measured at four and a half feet above grade.  If the trunk when measured at that height is 55 inches in circumference (17.5 inches in diameter) or larger, a Special Tree Removal Permit is required.  Details on the requirements can be found here.