Clearing land options

[955Lincoln]

I don't want to damage any trees I want to keep.

Keep heavy tracked equipment outside of the dripline of the trees that you want to save.

but I would also be left with hundreds of rotting stumps underground. How many years until there are depressions formed?

Something else to consider. Depending on the tree type and size, you could have quite a large hole after you remove the stumps and a lot of dirt also comes out with the stump. Unless you do an excellent job with compaction these holes will settle over time as well.


If you decide to take the stumps out it would be VERY wise to hire or rent a dozer or excavator with a thumb to push the trees over before you cut them off. The diffference in labor is night and day.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Dirt in the timber piles can be a major drawback to hiring someone to clear with a track hoe and dozier if they are not diligent. We had about 6 acres cleared as a test, and the amount of dirt in the timber piles was a lot more than we anticipated. There is probably more dirt under the piles that we can't see, but below is an example.

Then you are faced with the dilemma of paying more to clean up the piles, or do it yourself.

I haven't figured out how we are going to remove the dirt from the timber piles yet. Maybe go ahead and burn the brush then level later.

 

[sfloggie]

Very nice indeed!
Jim

 

[sfloggie]

Mike476 photos that are very nice!

 

[boggen]

if you had the cash, i would say get a 3pt hitch backhoe with subframe for your tractor. backhoes just come in handy in multi things.

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as far as renting a excavator / track hoe. that could work to. the major down fall to this is relying on someone to haul the unit in, and unload it. a 1/2 day could be wasted. just waiting for them to show up.

if ya rent, make sure you call up to a couple hours of away from "equipment rental companies, or machinery rental places" it might seem like a long 2 hour drive. but cost wise, it could mean 200 bucks or cheaper on different things. (rent costs can vary widely).

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you do have other options.

for example, cut the tree top off, and then leave say 6 plus feet or what ever is easier for you to do. (higher the better). of stump above ground. and then push / pull using FEL or draw bar on 3pt hitch. to pull stump over.

there is also a good old steel rim, from a truck. or A frame. method. and using a chain / cable. to pull trees.

you might try an advance search for my nickname and "frame" on this forum. and should bring back a 3 or 4 threads that give better detail of above.

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other options, is contact local logging companies, or put an ad for example on craigslist.com or local paper. for someone to come in and cut down trees that you want. pending on company, they may bring in a rough cut board machine, they take what they want, and you get what ever is left. perhaps cut to rough sizes (length / width) and no cost to you when it is all said and done. (depends on what you want done overall though)

pending on agreement, they may deal with fixing all ruts, and stumps when done cutting trees down, etc... or you deal with stuff (could be problematic, on amount of ruts / size of ruts)

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dozer can work to.

 

[wixthedog]

Wow, a lot of great suggestions and advice! I will look more into the renting the forestry cutter, that seems like a good option. We had a bad experience with using a dozer around trees we wanted to keep several years ago. Long story short, a lot of them were damaged and several died off.

I can do a lotof the smaller diameter trees with my Kubota and I have been doing that as time permits. With the little rain we have had in Texas the ground is dry as a bone and the trees are hard to pull out.

 

[catdozer]

A lot of our work is getting out of larger stuff, and more of bobcat work, my dad is planning on purchasing a new Bobcat T650 with a forestry mulching head since we already got close to 5000 hours on a 2007 T320, and a bobcat with a forestry head is the best way to do selective land clearing