Clearing overgrown forest

[Overgrown]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I am new to land ownership and just bought 90 acres in West Central Illinois. I have a Yanmar LX490 tractor along with some attachments and have been working on cleaning up the land. The property consists of about 8 acres of pasture and yard around the house, while the rest is an overgrown thick almost impenetrable mess.

The property has a lot of Black Locust (I have had many flat tires on my tractor and utility vehicle from the thorns) and Osage Orange, Buckthorn, Multiflora and other obnoxious thorny brush. The forest has some nice Walnut trees and some Cottonwoods and Sycamore trees which I would like to clean up around these trees so that I can hike around and enjoy the forest. Right now I have to get on my hands and knees in many places to go through the forest, and get all cut up from all the thorns. There are also a lot of downed trees and the creek beds are full of downed trees and brush.

I have been cleaning the land with a chainsaw and the FEL and Root Grapple on the tractor, but it is slow as molasses and I have stumps everywhere. I am burning up all this brush, which can't be all that great for the environment.

I have been looking at the Track Loader Mulchers and they are impressive, but they are expensive.

Would it make sense to buy a Track Loader and Mulcher, use it and then try to sell it. I found some places in Chicago that rent them for about 8-9 thousand bucks a month, which is also expensive. Some people have suggested using goats. Basically I am looking for a little guidance and suggestions on how best to clean up the land so that I can enjoy it.

Is there anyone in the area that does this kind of work?

Thanks

 

[J_J]

Have you asked for any quotes for cleaning up your land?

 

[Overgrown]

I havent yet, thought it would be fun and ego boosting to do as much as I can myself. I'm in no rush to clean up the land. I probably will get some quotes just to get an idea.

 

[oosik]

Welcome to TBN from Ea WA state. Essentially you have 80 acres thats as thick as the hair on a dogs back and it sounds like it all has thorns of some kind. You can keep doing it the way you are or hire it out. I think you might be surprised at the mess still remaining after you hire it out and for sure, the cost. If time is not a problem - then hack at it and look forward to that day when it will be the way you want it.

 

[bcp]

Clear roads/trails through it, then keep widening them. That gives you lots of edges to work on and routes to drag stuff out.

Bruce

 

[Rustyiron]

Welcome to both TBN and land ownership! I find that "chipping away" (clearing/cleaning) at you place is highly rewarding & therapeutic and delivers a certain sense of achievement that is hard to come by these days. Get your tires "foam filled" and hack away. Occasionally you might want to rent an excavator (also highly therapeutic) to take a big bite out of it, removing and stacking it for your later further processing of it with your tractor. Black Locust is great firewood, might be time to get a good wood stove also.:thumbsup:
A good friend of mine (let's just say raised WAY back in the WV mountain's & woods) told me; "that's why they made man live so long, He's got a lot of work to do"

 

[Overgrown]

Thanks for responding Rustyiron. I have put that green slime in the tires and it only works for really small holes. Where can I find someone to fill the tires with foam. My local tire shop, didn't know anything about foam filling tires, but I suspect they don't want to lose all my business.

 

[davesl708]

Thanks for responding Rustyiron. I have put that green slime in the tires and it only works for really small holes. Where can I find someone to fill the tires with foam. My local tire shop, didn't know anything about foam filling tires, but I suspect they don't want to lose all my business.

Check with your dealer. They should be able or know who can fill the tires.
I had a similar project on a much smaller scale. My BX with FEL cleared everything under 3". Pushed it in a pile to burn. Advertised free firewood for cutting.
Got rid of a lot of it that way.
Just some thoughts.

Good luck and welcome.

 

[tmc_31]

You can rent a skid steer or a compact track loader for weekend jaunt through the forest. A ratchet rake on a standard bucket works wonders for clearing underbrush. Get a skid with an enclosed cab and the thorns won't bother you. You will be surprised at how big a tree you can push over with a large skid loader. Much cheaper than a mulcher but you have to pile the brush and burn it or get rid of it in some manner.

Tim

 

[JimRB]

Some folks get aircraft tires that have really thick carcasses for front tires. http://www.genscotire.com/agriculture.html