Section 377.050 - Consent of department for removal of trees along state highways(1) Upon the filing of the application mentioned in ORS 377.040 the Department of Transportation may, if in its judgment and discretion the destruction or removal of the trees will not mar or in any way affect the scenic beauty of or otherwise harm, injure or affect the highway, issue a permit authorizing the cutting down, digging up, removal or destruction of the trees under such conditions and in such manner as the department may in such permit designate.(2) Such permits may be granted when it becomes necessary to cut or remove brush and tree growth which otherwise would be hazardous to the operation or maintenance of lines for the transmission of electric energy or communication, or which would impair the efficiency of the service of such lines to the public, but such cutting or removal shall be done in such manner as not substantially to impair the scenic beauty of the highway.