No, chopping down a cactus won’t land you in jail under any specific “weird property law” in Vermont. This headline appears to riff on the state’s strict tree protection statutes, which apply to certain trees but not cacti, as Vermont lacks native cacti species and no such plant-specific rule exists.​
Vermont Tree Laws
Vermont regulates “shade trees” (typically those over 4 inches in diameter in public rights-of-way) through tree wardens, requiring written permission before cutting to prevent unauthorized removal. Penalties scale by tree size, up to $1,500 or more per tree for willful damage without approval.​
Property Owner Rights
Private property owners face no such restrictions for trees or plants on their own land, absent local ordinances or endangered species protections. Cacti, being non-native and unregulated here, fall outside these rules entirely.​
Similar Quirks
- Municipalities control highway-adjacent vegetation trimming.​
- Endangered plant rules protect rare species, but none involve cacti.
SOURCES
[1](https://www.vlct.org/resource/tree-law-faqs)
[2](https://vtcommunityforestry.org/sites/default/files/2022-10/tree-warden-and-tree-statutes.pdf)
[3](https://vtinstituteforgovt.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/7/4/46746127/vig-lawoftrees-2020.pdf)
[4](https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/13/077)
[5](https://www.reddit.com/r/MyTimeAtSandrock/comments/11dz7te/is_there_actually_a_penalty_to_chopping_down/)
