Clearing house lots, driveways and acreage in a town full of brooks, bogs and wetlands.
We clear land in Amherst for builders, homeowners opening up a lot for a house, garage or driveway, and landowners reclaiming acreage. Our track loaders, mini excavator and grapple handle trees, stumps and brush, and our trucks and trailers haul debris off site. Stumps can be ground in place.
Call (603) 438-6492 or use Get a Quote with the address, a rough acreage and what the land is for. We are family owned, fully insured and have 12 years of experience. Learn more on our land clearing page.
Water shapes most clearing plans in Amherst. These are the conditions we sort out before a machine goes in.
Amherst reviews development in its Wetland and Watershed Conservation District through a Planning Board conditional use permit. The checklist asks for mapped wetlands, soil types, two-foot contours and the vegetation to be removed, so the clearing plan has to be drawn before the land is touched.
For work in that district, the town asks applicants to show post-development stormwater peaks no higher than pre-development for the 10-year storm, plus erosion and sediment controls during construction. We stage clearing so bare soil is exposed for as little time as possible.
The same checklist calls for a letter from the NH Natural Heritage Inventory on rare or endangered species near the project. On a larger wooded parcel it is worth asking for that letter before the schedule is set.
Amherst's zoning includes an Aquifer Conservation District (Section 4.13), and conditional use reviews ask whether a proposal could affect the town's groundwater. We ask early whether a parcel falls inside it.
Baboosic Lake puts nearby lots inside state protected shoreland, and larger rivers and streams can do the same. In protected shoreland the Alteration of Terrain threshold drops to 50,000 square feet, so a lot that looks small can still need a state permit.
Larger clearing jobs can trigger state and town rules. These are the ones we look for with you.
Town wetland district. Development inside Amherst's Wetland and Watershed Conservation District (Zoning Ordinance Section 4.11) needs a Planning Board conditional use permit. Applicants show that the work cannot practicably be located elsewhere on the site, that state and federal permits are in hand, and that the Conservation Commission and Pennichuck Waterworks have had a chance to comment (Town of Amherst checklist (opens in a new tab)).
Alteration of Terrain. NHDES requires a permit when earth moving cumulatively disturbs more than 100,000 square feet over 10 years, or more than 50,000 square feet if any part is in protected shoreland (Env-Wq 1500 (opens in a new tab); RSA 485-A:17 (opens in a new tab)).
State wetlands. Excavating, removing, filling or dredging in or on any bank, flat, marsh or swamp next to state waters needs a state permit (RSA 482-A:3 (opens in a new tab)).
Intent to Cut. If clearing produces timber, the owner files a notice of intent to cut with the town's assessing officials before each cutting operation (RSA 79:10 (opens in a new tab)).
Check with Amherst Community Development for your parcel. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Sources: Town of Amherst: Conditional Use Permit checklist, Wetland and Watershed Conservation District; NH Code of Administrative Rules Env-Wq 1500 (Alteration of Terrain); NH RSA 485-A:17, Terrain Alteration; NH RSA 482-A:3, Wetlands permits; NH RSA 79:10, Notice of intent to cut
HomeGuide (opens in a new tab) puts national land clearing averages at about $1,200 to $8,000 per acre: roughly $1,200 to $2,500 for light brush, $2,500 to $4,500 for moderate growth and $4,500 to $8,000 for dense woods. Grading is listed separately at about $2,000 to $5,000 for a small home site on mostly level land, and much more on rocky ground. These are national reference ranges, not our prices.
Land clearing has too many variables for a calculator, so we price it after looking at the lot. For brush and small trees, our forestry mulching cost calculator gives a rough starting point.
Cost references: HomeGuide: Land Clearing Cost
A few places locals know, and what they mean for outdoor work nearby.
A lake of about 228 acres on the Amherst and Merrimack line, fed by Joe English Brook and draining to Baboosic Brook. Lots near the shore fall under state shoreland rules that limit stump and vegetation removal near the water.
Get directions to Baboosic Lake (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A 75-acre NH Audubon sanctuary built around a three-acre kettle-hole pond with a floating sphagnum mat. It shows how much of Amherst sits on wet, sensitive ground that is worth checking before any clearing.
Get directions to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary (opens Google Maps in a new tab)The village center around the Town Common, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with Beaver Brook running through it. Work near a historic district is usually close to neighbors, so access and debris control get extra attention.
Get directions to Amherst Village Historic District (opens Google Maps in a new tab)An east-flowing tributary of the Merrimack that crosses the southern part of town. Land beside it is low and wet in places, which affects shoreland and wetland planning.
Get directions to Souhegan River (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Photos from our crew's jobs across New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Possibly. Development inside the Wetland and Watershed Conservation District goes through a Planning Board conditional use permit. Ask Amherst Community Development whether your plan falls inside the district before you schedule clearing.
Yes, with the footprint planned carefully. Protected shoreland lowers the Alteration of Terrain threshold to 50,000 square feet, and stumps within 50 feet of the water stay in the ground unless the state approves removal.
It is the NHDES permit for large earth moving projects, triggered above 100,000 square feet disturbed over 10 years, or above 50,000 square feet in protected shoreland. Many single house lots stay under the line.
Yes. We grind stumps in place 4 to 8 inches below grade, or pull them if you plan to build there. Chips can be left, raked out or hauled away.
We haul logs and debris away with our trucks and trailers, or mulch brush in place when it suits the lot. Tell us if you want to keep firewood. If the cut produces timber, the owner files an intent to cut notice first.
See every town we cover on our service areas page.
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