Land Clearing in Wyoming, MI

Clearing jobs we handle

• Buckthorn and honeysuckle removal. These invasive shrubs take over the edges of yards, wooded lots and the land along Buck Creek and Plaster Creek. They shade out everything native and spread fast because birds eat the berries.
• Dead ash. Emerald ash borer was first found in Michigan and has killed nearly every untreated ash in Kent County. Dead ash gets brittle and drops limbs. On larger lots, we take out the dead ash along with the brush around it.
• Back lots and fence lines. Taking back the overgrown strip behind the shed or garage so you can use, fence or mow the yard again.
• Building sites. Clearing for a new home, an addition, a pole barn or a detached garage, plus a corridor for the driveway and utilities.
• Underbrush thinning. Removing brush and small trees under a stand of mature oaks or maples to open it up while keeping the canopy.

The ground in this part of Kent County

Much of Wyoming sits on sandy, well-drained soil left by glacial outwash, with heavier ground in low areas near the creeks and the Grand River. Sandy soil makes clearing easier in some ways, since machines track well and stumps grind cleanly. The tradeoff is erosion. Bare sand on even a gentle slope will wash in the first hard rain, so we do not leave large areas stripped and open. Mulching brush in place, or putting down straw and seed, keeps the ground where it belongs.

Lower lots near the creeks can stay wet well into spring. We plan those jobs for drier stretches or for deep winter, when frozen ground carries equipment without rutting.

Permits and timing rules in Michigan

Michigan's soil erosion and sedimentation control law, Part 91 of the state environmental code, generally requires a permit for earth changes that disturb an acre or more, or that happen within 500 feet of a lake or stream. Many back-lot cleanups fall well below that, but building sites and lots along Buck Creek or Plaster Creek may not. We will tell you if your project likely needs a permit and work to its terms, and if you are building, your contractor will also need city permits for the structure itself.

Oaks need special care. Oak wilt is a serious disease in Michigan, and it spreads through fresh wounds during the warm months. State guidance is to avoid cutting or wounding oaks from April 15 to July 15. If oaks on your lot are staying, we schedule clearing around them outside that window, or take extra care not to wound them.

How a clearing job goes

1. Walk the property. We mark property lines, trees to save and anything we need to avoid, like septic fields, buried lines and wet spots. We call MISS DIG 811 before any digging or stump removal.
2. Cut and process. Brush goes through a chipper or mulcher. Larger trees are felled and cut into firewood lengths or hauled.
3. Stumps. Ground below grade where you will plant lawn, or removed where you will excavate.
4. Clean up. We rake out the cleared area and leave mulch or seed so the ground does not wash.

Keeping buckthorn from coming back

Cut buckthorn resprouts aggressively from the stump, and seeds already in the soil will sprout for years. Grinding stumps, treating cut stumps right after cutting where appropriate and mowing or pulling seedlings for a few seasons gets ahead of it. Planting native shrubs or trees in the cleared area helps too, since buckthorn thrives in bare, open ground.

Best season

Late fall through early spring is ideal. Buckthorn stays green after most native plants drop their leaves, so it is easy to spot in November. Frozen ground protects lawns and wet areas, and working outside the oak wilt window protects your oaks.

Common questions

Can you keep the firewood? Yes. We can cut it to length and stack it, or haul it all away.

How long does a typical back lot take? A strip of buckthorn behind an average city lot is often a one-day job. A wooded acre being cleared for a building site can take several days, depending on how many large trees come out and how much of the ground needs stump removal.

Where else do you work? Wyoming, plus Grandville, Kentwood, Byron Center, Jenison and Walker.