In many larger cities here, there are bylaws regarding tree removal, and often requirements that if you cut one down, you need to plant a replacement. We live in a rural municipality and no such bylaws exist here. This is something that I will be pushing for personally, at least in settlement areas.
In Ontario, we have something known as conservation authorities - we are the only province to have these in Canada. These 36 entities are responsible for managing various watersheds in Ontario, and ensure conservation of land, water, and natural habitats across the roughly 1.1 million square kms of the province (Ontario is a big place - much larger than Texas for example, and 4 times the size of the UK). They do have a say where there are endangered species, waterways, or large volumes of trees are at risk. They did review the entire subdivision plan, as these things have to go through many approvals - environmental assessments, archeological surveys, etc. This particular stand of trees was not large enough or special enough to warrant their intervention - we did ask!
As noted, we have already planted around 30 trees since these were removed, and do intend to plant more. I don't know that we can replace all that were removed in the available room we have, but we will plant as many as possible. We might not get to enjoy most of them, but maybe the next generation will.
