Clearing 3 acrs young forest for meadow

[Western]

Answer to querries:

1) He's licensed and insured. He did this work on his own land next door and did a fine job there. This parcel, being sloped, has some different challenges, but we are comfortable that he's a professional and knows what he's doing.
2) We'll be taking soil tests to determine lime & fert. My biggest worry is topsoil health, though, and that does sound like it's going to take a pounding. We are going to keep all heavy equip well away from the dripline on the larger trees since compaction there can kill a tree 15-20 years down the road.
2) Meadow! Yes. I'm no fan of the monoculture. So we are exploring a mix of smooth bromegrass - 8 lbs/a, Timothy (late heading variety) - 4 lbs/a
Alfalfa (late flowering) - 6 lbs/a, Red clover - 4 lbs/a, and a quick germinating annual rye for soil retention. We want to attract birdlife and create a sustainable meadow environment for our smaller neighbors ('cept the moose, they are bigger).

logger is using trees for pulp. We are paying him a very modest fee for that aspect of the clearing. Included in the 15k total.

1. Sounds good if your good with it.
2 and 3. Again, I would stress the Ag agent, it would be like tapping into the Biology dept at a big university FOR FREE

If it where me, I would think about it very hard, once the dozer shows up, hundreds of years of trees will be gone in a day and hard to replace. Sometimes mother nature has done a pretty good job. Might consider your long term privacy in the equation if you haven't already also.

 

[mulchie]

I take your point, but those trees are probably 10-20 years old at most and there are tangles of vines and plenty o' blackthorn in there too.

 

[TCJatko]

If I were doing it I'd just have someone thin the smaller trees and brush and chip it in-place. I'd be very concerned over erosion. Have them cut the stumps as low as possible (2-3 inches) and let them rot.

 

[Tollster]

I am doing the same thing right now as we speak. However, I am doing the clearing with my chainsaw, making piles and burning them. I am starting with the small saplings up to about 8" and a few 12". The pines go fast with a good saw and you would be surprised how much you can get done. Make your piles with all the logs and branches going the same direction for easy burning.

My BIL had to get some stumps ground around his house,the estimate was 75.00 per stump and he had 15. He was able to rent a 32 horse grinder for a day and did them all himself for 300.00. They where large stumps.

I don;t know how old you are,nor your health, but if you have some time,you can save a lot of money by doing it your self. If you cut larger diameter tree's leave a good stumpso a dozer has some leverage. Also check locally, you may be surprised to find people would like to have some of the log for their outdoor burners, hard and soft woods. So if you can stage some 8-10' lengths, people will readily take them, keep in mind though,the easier it is to get them the faster they will go. If you have larger trees, check with a local logger and see if it would be feasable for him to remove them for free. Sometimes it will work out well for you,keep in mind he has to mob in his equipment, he may also leave a lot of branches,but talk to him and ya may be able to barter.

These are my plans by the way, I have a small bota, that I will use to skid out what I can for free.

 

[Pilot]

Around here they clear Christmas tree farms with a large excavator. Christmas trees here are usually 4-6" at the butt and the ones they want to get rid of are those that didn't get a buyer this year so they want to clear the field and replant. You would be surprised at how fast the excavator can pull and pile them, then smooth the site. And excavators do very little site damage as they have very low ground pressure compared to a dozer.

$5,000 per acre sure seems high to me, but I don't know the site, how many trees, how many of the bigger trees, etc.

Give it a thought.

 

[creekbend]

One thing that you should consider in regards to the decision of cutting the trees as short as possible and allowing them to rot. Depending on the density of the wood and the climate, most stumps will take many years to rot, An example - black locust - if your children are young, you will have great grandchildren before that black locust stump is rotted and gone. Even with assistance, such as drilling holes and adding nitrogen based material, will take much longer than anticipated. Just a thought. I have a yellow popular stump that I cut down around 15 years ago to build our driveway. That stump remains hard to this day and has not even begun to rot. Best of luck in your decision and method that you choose.

 

[QwikDraw]

I try to stay out of these posts but 15k should get you all the trees and tops removed (chipped and hauled) AND all the stumps pulled and ground/hauled.

We charge 5000-6000 per acre for all trees, tops and stumps removed. If the wood is smaller (pulp) and less profit from that maybe on the upper side. But the company you are using is basically logging your property (leaving the tops). If they want to leave the tops they should pay you or do it for the wood. If they have to cut extra trees maybe charge some but 5000 per acre is crazy high.

I am working 10 minutes from the VT border right now and have bid on work in VT against a handful of guys so I know they are up there.

Be advised if you do go the mulch route depending on rocks it may be a rougher finished product than you expect.

Rough prices per acre:
cut all trees 1500-2000
chip 1000
pull stumps 1500
grind stumps haul

what part of VT are you from?

 

[newbury]

One thing to remember is that in Vermont (I lived there from 1958 till 1978 and still have 73 acres in East Fletcher) you don't have to waste time thinking about the topsoil being destroyed with heavy equipment.
It's CERTAIN to be destroyed. You have to worry about replacing it.

 

[mulchie]

I try to stay out of these posts but 15k should get you all the trees and tops removed (chipped and hauled) AND all the stumps pulled and ground/hauled.

We charge 5000-6000 per acre for all trees, tops and stumps removed. If the wood is smaller (pulp) and less profit from that maybe on the upper side. But the company you are using is basically logging your property (leaving the tops). If they want to leave the tops they should pay you or do it for the wood. If they have to cut extra trees maybe charge some but 5000 per acre is crazy high.

I am working 10 minutes from the VT border right now and have bid on work in VT against a handful of guys so I know they are up there.

Be advised if you do go the mulch route depending on rocks it may be a rougher finished product than you expect.

Rough prices per acre:
cut all trees 1500-2000
chip 1000
pull stumps 1500
grind stumps haul


what part of VT are you from?

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The price includes all work and a finished job. Is it the cheapest possible way to go? No, we know it's not. But we are dealing with two contractors who we really like who will do the work right. I've just been trying to figure out the best way to deal with soil issues so I wanted to check in with other pros. Prices above sound right in line to me.